Immortal
by TwilightCakes
Summary: Circumstances have given them a new way to live, whether it is after waking up, phasing, or being born. They will all be changed forever. The stories behind the Twilight Saga characters before, during, and after the changes that will make them immortal.
1. Carlisle : 1663

What do all of our favorite characters have in common? They were once human. They were normal people with lives of their own that were somehow interrupted by a change. A change that would make them immortal. This is a story that looks at what the circumstances were surrounding each 'changed' character from The Twilight Saga. Life has presented them with a different way to live, whether it is after waking up, phasing, or being born. Some chose the way of life, but most did not. They are changed forever.

In this story I have taken what little facts we know about each character before, during, and after their change of phase, and put together my version what happened. It is written in canon and I have tried to be as Stephanie Meyer and historically correct as possible.

**SM OWNS ALL**

**A HUGE thank you to my beta, Rain-It-Shall...she encourages me, keeps me creative, works quickly...and sometimes she even puts off her homework and stays up late to read the inner workings of my mind =P She is the best! **

Includes appearances by: Carlisle. Jasper. Edward. Esme. Rosalie. Emmett. Alice. Sam. Jared. Paul. Embry. Jacob. Quil. Leah. Seth. Colin. Brady. Renesmee. Bella.

Read, Enjoy, Review.

Carlisle - 1663

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It was over. He sucked in a violent breath, his eyes flying open after being squeezed tight in agony for..._how many days? One? Two? Five?_ He couldn't be sure.

All that mattered was the fire was over. The searing, glowing hot embers that had flowed through his body causing bone crushing agony had ceased.

His blurry mind sped and fought with itself as he tried to put together what had happened to him, but everything now moved so fast he couldn't hold onto a coherent thought for more than a second. Sucking in a breath of stagnant air, he winced at the dryness of his throat….it almost _burned_.

He was in a cellar, buried under something rotten; his nose told him that much. The normal stench of the London streets where he lived were only intensified by the rotting food scent that permeated the dense air in the cellar. He held out his hand to push whatever was on top of him aside. He was surprised to feel that they were vegetables and that even though they had felt so heavy while he was burning, they now fell away as if they were no more than dried leaves.

He thought back. Something wasn't right, he was sure. _Retrace the steps….._

Wrinkling his nose at the stench of decayed food, he brushed more debris off of himself and tried to think. He looked up at the cellar door that led to the outside – was that how had had ended up here? Yes, he was sure.

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. Yes, it was all coming back to him now.

The crusade to catch Satan's spawns that had long haunted the streets of London was a difficult yet valiant one. Originally the idea that a creature of the night had been responsible for all the murders had perplexed Carlisle; normally, he would have been a bit more careful in the process of elimination. Why had he gone on the dangerous hunt for the awful creature, a poor excuse for a man?

_Father. Father wanted me to lead the hunt to go to his lair, armed with pitchforks and blades…as if that would have helped me…_

Carlisle shook his head at his father's misconstrued belief that a rusty pitchfork would have done him any aid when faced against the stone-like creature. More memories started to flood his mind.

_His father led the angry mob through the main sewer of central London. Carlisle had a feeling that their plan was flawed from the start. However, he never tried to second guess his father, Simond, and his masterfully crafted ideas. Carlisle led a group of scared, young men through the other side of the sewer by the entrance where he had seen the creature. His conscience told him that allowing his father to know the location of the hideout would be the end of the killings in their city, and that is what drove him forward. Their plan was to meet in the middle and take the creature by surprise, bind it down with silver chains, and set it on fire. _

Carlisle now laughed bitterly at the very thought of that plan ever succeeding.

_They had them cornered now; there were three. They had grown weak and feeble during their time in the sewers. The rampant hunts for their kind throughout the city were led almost every other night, the religious martyrs driven like the hounds through the alleyways and sewers. And now they had been found. _

_Carlisle led the mob of young, driven men to the place where they were, and the creatures did not overlook the fact that it was indeed him who was the leader. But they had been wrong. Hunger had not lessened the speed of the devils; they attacked with vigor and unrelenting fervor. The strongest of the three had grabbed Carlisle's blonde hair and twisted his neck back, wrenching it into an unnatural position. _

"_It should pain thee to realize that thou shall soon understand the fire that drives us," he had whispered in his ear before sinking the razors of fire into his throat. Carlisle recoiled immediately as the vampire dropped his already writhing body to the sewer floor. _

_He had burned for only a few minutes before looking up to see the madness that they had created. Bodies flew up against the hard walls, cracking and falling limp as they were drained and disposed of. The screams of the lucky few to escape were echoing in his ears, which were now pounding with the sound of his franticly beating heart. _

_Fully sated, the three of them had turned into the main sewers to run rampant and strong throughout the city. He was alone. _

_He began to crawl on his hands and knees, the white hot fire spreading rapidly throughout his body. He made it to the outside of the sewer, sure that his skin was burning like the fires of the torches he had yielded only moments ago. He barely registered the sounds of the screams of the now terrorized men that had fled, their howls echoing in the distance. Pulling himself to his feet, he resisted a scream as he tried to straighten his charred body, looking for a safe place to hide. His only fear now was that the devils would return to seek the rest of their vengeance on him. _

_Putting his hand to his throat, he could feel the blood from the wound bubbling down his neck, the cool liquid soothing his burning body. The cellar door was the first chance he had to hide, and he willingly took it. He stumbled in, trying, although in agony, to be quiet and resist the urge to scream as the flames licked at his body. _

_Once he was huddled in the safety of the small, dark cellar, the fire had only worsened. He hunched there, praying for death to find him swiftly. _

_But it didn't. _

_He lay there, begging for the end and feeling every bit of agony as the fire continued. It never seemed to end. _

_Time ceased as the flames raged hotter. _

But finally the burning, searing, crippling pain began to lessen, a fraction at a time. He felt some small relief as the fire began to wane in his arms and legs, and soon it receded completely to his heart.

All the days of his short life flashed before him as he lay there, his singed body growing hotter and hotter the more concentrated the fire became. Then the pounding, frantic beats of his heart brought him back to present time. His heart sped and pounded as it tried to find relief from the flames, but to no avail. Carlisle breathed and panted heavily, trying to find some solace in the hell that had enveloped him.

And then suddenly, the last beat of his heart was ringing in his ears, and everything was silent. He lay, frozen with fear that the searing heat would return, but it did not.

The fire was over, and he was able to open his eyes and suck in a deep breath of relieved confusion.

The life that he had once known had already begun to fade away.

He knew he had been bitten by the creature that lurked in the sewers; his mind told him that the area on his neck that had been mauled should be tender and sore, most likely infected by now. Moving his hand up to feel his neck, he frowned, feeling the skin that was already healed; it was smooth under his fingertips as he ran them along his jugular.

He squinted at a beam of light the shone through a crack in the cellar doors. So it was daylight. Would people be looking for him? Where could he go for help? His mind could faintly recall the group of men he had been with to find the creatures that lurked in the London sewers.

_Father must have put together a search party for me by now…surely they knew I was missing?_

Sitting up, he frowned as he took a mental inventory of his body. He didn't feel hungry or sore or tired at all – he felt like he had been pulled apart and remade with the finest materials of the gods. If not dead, _I should be in pain, I should be hungry, and I should be torn into pieces! _

His eyes darted upwards towards the floorboards above where he now sat upright in the cellar; he had almost no recollection of this place or how he got there. The squeaking of the wood floor above alerted him to the fact that he was not alone in this house.

"Agard, this bread is stale! Been rotten nearly three stinking days!" a voice rang out above him. Carlisle recoiled slightly, the clear sounds of their voices startling him – they sounded as if they were standing right beside him and speaking in his ear, not upstairs on another floor.

"And what do you suppose I do about it?"

"Fetch me the yeast from the cellar, I'll make another," the first haggard voice rang out in Carlisle's ears.

_The cellar? But I'm in the cellar! _He thought to himself in a panic. He listened with his strange, attentive new hearing as the two people on the floor above him shifted about the room.

_Two people? How did I know there were two people above me? One sounds like he is heavy set by the garble of his voice…the woman is younger, definitely smaller build by the sound of her light gait…_

Carlisle paused slightly, his brain calculating the strange noises above him when another part caused the wave of panic to come rolling over him. He knew something wasn't quite right with him, and he didn't want to alarm these innocent people by scaring them in their own basement.

He was suddenly aware of a hot, burning sensation that was growing in his throat. His nostrils flared, his eyes darting around the dark space. He noted that he could see every angle, every grain of wood on the crates, and every spec of dirt that covered the potatoes and turnips that lay stacked where he now crouched. Laying a hand on his stomach, he noted that he did not feel hungry whatsoever, even after he had burned for days. The food around him did nothing to hold his interest or even tempt him. Instead, he had the oddest sensation in his body and mind and _throat_ to go approach the two beings upstairs.

The floor above him creaked and groaned again as the smaller, younger woman approached the crawlspace where the cellar door lies on the floor. Carlisle shrunk back into what he could tell was the furthest, darkest corner of the tiny space. He began to say a silent prayer to God that whatever she was looking for, she would find it quickly and be gone.

He was starting to think the entire thing was a dream until she pulled the latch on the floor open, and he was suddenly aware of one thing.

A thudding, pumping, g_ushing_ heart.

Not a second after the sound hit his ears did he begin to picture the dark crimson liquid that was surely flowing so quickly through the organ that tempted him so. At the same moment a foreign, slightly bitter yet sweet liquid pooled in his mouth, causing him to swallow rapidly. The heart continued to beat furiously, pounding in his ears as he hunched in the corner.

The short, slightly round woman stooped over as she entered the cellar, her breath wheezing in her throat. Squeezing his eyes shut as the burning in his throat intensified, he listened as she rummaged around in the wooden crates for what she was looking for. Finding a row of crockery a few feet away, she began to scoop out the wheat for the fresh bread. Her body movements caused the strange yet delightful scent of her aroma to waft towards him in waves.

He grabbed his ripped shirt collar and smothered his face with it to block out the smell, but it didn't help. His sensitive nose quickly picked up the scent again and again, and he couldn't escape it.

Suddenly, his eyes flew open. It had all become perfectly clear.

His heightened senses. The burning after the bite. The fact that he wasn't hungry, at least for food, after almost three days.

The creature that had bitten him had infected him with his venom. _He has made me a creature of the night! A creature of Satan! The kind of creature that my father and our congregation hunt! _

His mind screamed at him as his throat continued to burn with a white hot fire as he debated what to do. The urge to tackle the stout woman began to overcome him, and he fought with every ounce of his reserve to hold his breath, as that seemed to be the only relief he could find.

"Agard, we need to go to market! These blasted rats been at the wheat stores again!" the woman screeched, her hot breath resounding off the bare dirt wall of the cellar. Carlisle squinted his eyes shut as the white hot fire in his throat seared unrelentingly.

It was painfully apparent that something was wrong, and he knew what it was. The bite had changed him indeed.

After what felt like an endless eternity of sheer torture, the woman finally found what she needed and returned up the steps. A quick glance out the cellar doors let him know that the daylight had finally faded into the darkness of night. He knew he needed to leave and figure out what was going on with his seemingly strange new body. He exited the cellar doors and crept into the dark night, only to be bombarded with a plethora of smells and sights. He hadn't noticed the change in his eyesight in the dark cellar, but he could now see and sense things that he never could have before. Sucking in a breath, he was jolted from his fascination by the return of the white hot fire that had smoldered his throat earlier.

Blinking rapidly, he rubbed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He knew that he had to find his father and explain to him that he was alright, but his mind could not seem to recall anything about where exactly he could find his home. While one part of his mind contemplated this, the other half of it snapped its attention to a drunken man, stumbling in the alley way behind him.

His head whipped sideways, his eyes quickly zeroing in on the large man staggering from the back of an inn, reeking of ale and sweat.

_How could I know what he smells of from all the way over here? _Carlisle pondered, his mouth once again filling with the bitter, sweet liquid. _Why do I crave this man so? _

He barely had time to finish the thought before his feet began moving and he was hovering behind the intoxicated slob, who was now teetering down the alleyway.

Carlisle swallowed the mouth full of liquid and tried to restrain himself before the man saw him and questioned him. Just when he thought he could turn away and run, the man exhaled loudly, unbuttoning his thick coat slightly as the liquor he had consumed caught up with him.

Carlisle didn't even have time to blink before he felt his hands rip the flimsy fabric from the neck of the coat, spitting it to the ground. His hands wove their way into the greasy hair as he ripped his head back to expose his pulsing jugular. Carlisle's mouth dripped with anticipation as he bared his teeth and prepared to sink them into the flesh below them. The man cried out in muffled surprise and fear, his heart beat thrumming in the still of the darkness.

"Ahhhh!!!" he cried out. "I do not wish to die by the way of the demon of the night!" he cried, his screams muffled by Carlisle's arm as he held him steadfastly against his chest.

His cries soon grew louder as Carlisle paused, his teeth exposed and ready to bite into his skin, which had grown clammy with sweat in his panic.

"I do not want to die!" he cried, shaking with fear.

_What am I doing? I can't harm this man! I'm studying to be a man of god! I cannot do this! _His mind screamed at him. Suddenly, Carlisle snapped his mouth shut. He stood, startled, in the silent alley as the man struggled against his iron grip. Releasing his hair and neck, his eyes stayed locked on the pulse that vibrated in his throat. The man stumbled back, his eyes wild with fear, straining to see him in the black night. Carlisle held his breath and turned to run, darting away.

He didn't notice how far or fast he was running into the darkness. He held his breath, for that was the only thing that seemed to temporarily relieve the fire in him. Habit told him he needed to take a breath, but necessity did not make him as he ran, increasing his speed with every bound.

He stopped suddenly, a scent catching his nostrils all at once._ Wood...incense…wine…_the smells invaded his senses and he was overwhelmed for a moment.

He was home.

Carlisle stood in front of the doors of the church for a few moments, shocked that he had finally remembered where he lived. _Its coming back…perhaps I am not what I fear I am. I am home. _

His comforting thoughts weren't able to stay in his mind long; the tempting, unknown smell he had associated with humans made his mouth water and fill with the strange, sweet liquid. Normally he would have shifted in discomfort, but his stone body stood still as a statue as his mind was flooded with images.

He could now remember the small wooden chapel that was next door to their living quarters, which was meager at best. His father, a man of the church, had never been one for fancy things as he believed it set a greedy example for the church. The two of them had lived there since Carlisle's birth. He winced at the thought of his lonely life with his father. Yes, more and more memories were coming back to him now.

Suddenly he remembered.

He recalled the pressure to join the church and lead as a member of the clergy, never to have a family of his own. He had studied religion since he was a small boy at the hand of his father, spending many nights in his small room studying the bible by candlelight. He remembered the solitude of being a young boy growing up with a father who was still mourning the loss of a wife and mother. He remembered lashings he had received from his father's leather belt when he could not recite the scripture properly.

Glancing to the side, he noted that no one was on the darkened streets. His ears could pick up no trace of movement along the cobblestone streets in front of the church as he slunk to the side and moved towards the back door through the chapel.

When he went to open the door, the hinges threatened to squeak under the rust of the bolt. He pursed his lips in frustration and debated what do to next. Looking up, he noticed the window to his father's office was slightly ajar, about twenty feet above him.

He reached up tentatively, grasping onto a stone that stuck out enough to wedge his fingers into. Pulling himself up, he was suddenly jolted by the strange sensation of sand filling the hand that he had placed on the stone.

His hand had crumbled the stone to pieces.

He pulled it away to stare at each individual grain of sand that fell from his hand as he turned it over to empty it. Frozen, he could barely suck in the panicked breaths as they came, faster and faster.

His stomach turned and twisted with this knowledge of his new found strength. His hopes that he would be able to return home a normal young man of the church were becoming slimmer and slimmer.

His hopes that he hadn't been dammed by a creature of Satan were also growing slimmer with each passing second and with each new horrific discovery of a change to his body. The speed. The strength. The burning fire in his throat that caused him to almost attack two people in a matter of hours.

Clutching his chest, he doubled over as his eyes began to sting with the familiar feeling of tears. He knew it wasn't right for a man to cry; it showed weakness and frailty, neither of which his father would stand for.

His father.

How would he face his father now that he knew what he had become? He couldn't. He simply couldn't. He clutched his chest tighter as the realization hit him that he wouldn't be able to go home again. Ever. The pain increased as the thoughts of where he could go to hide flooded his mind.

Suddenly, he gasped. His heart that had beat inside his chest for almost twenty four years, was still. He had no heartbeat. He was indeed a monster.

Glancing up at the window to his father's office, he had made his decision; he would leave. He would go up into the dense forests that overlooked the foggy city, and he would dispose of himself to that he wouldn't hurt anyone- ever.

He momentarily embraced what he was and collected himself so that he could say his goodbyes. Jumping up, he silently scaled the back of the church, placing his hands gently on the stones as he pulled himself up enough to peek inside the window.

The burn in his throat increased as he laid eyes on his father's upstairs office. The room was simple; wooden floors, a small fireplace, and a modest desk in the corner where his father sat to study and compose his sermons. His father had always insisted that the two men live simple, uncomplicated lives; he believed it brought them closer to God to be with the fewest amount of possessions possible.

Carlisle held his breath and winced as his father entered the room with their family friend, William. He shrunk back below the window, just out of sight, perched easily on the side of the stone side of the house.

"Is it as we feared, William? Can you not find my son anywhere?" his father asked. Carlisle winced as he realized that his father had actually been looking for him. Losing his focus, he sucked in a pained breath before realizing something horrible: his own father smelled absolutely _mouthwatering_ to him.

He winced, squeezing his eyes shut, and tried his best to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"I am sorry…I regret…that there is no trace of him anywhere."

Carlisle heard his father think for a moment, his teeth grinding as he thought. "You saw him be bitten? Of that you are absolutely sure?"

There was a pause from William. "Yes, I am sure. From what we saw before we fled…he was attacked brutally, I regret to inform you. The monster attacked him first…they are not slow thinking creatures. He knew that dear Carlisle was the leader of our quest."

Carlisle heard his father shuffle some pieces of parchment on his wooden desk, the motion sending his delicious scent wafting towards the window. He gripped the stones that he clung to below the window, wincing again as they became shards of sand in his fingertips. He clamped his iron jaw shut and tried his best not to breathe as he waited.

"Then it is…certain that …my son is dead."

Carlisle heard William nod, and the two men began to stir as they prepared to leave the office. Not that it mattered, he had heard enough. His father thought him dead, and to him, that was better than knowing what he truly was.

A monster.

Glancing up at the night sky, he feared that daylight was soon approaching. He would need to get out of the city before something else horrible could happen. Flames of torture licked at his throat as he ghosted through the cobblestone streets, careful to hold his breath and avoid anything that moved.

His newfound speed was a sick, masochistic joke. It only made it more tempting for him to want to sneak up on an innocent human and kill them that much faster. He continued to grind his teeth together as he ran to the outskirts of the city, much further than he had ever ventured in his old life.

The hideous burning in his throat continued as he ran. It was like the sicknesses he had gotten as a small child that caused him to cough up blood and have a sore throat for days, only a thousand times worse. His throat was the only part of his body that still burned like he had for days in the horrid cellar.

He came to a halt once he had reached a row of carriage houses that were on the outskirts of the city. Still holding his breath, he looked around at the paddocks full of horses and mules that were used to pull carts and work in the fields. Their throbbing hearts were taunting him as they pumped blood through their large bodies, and he closed his eyes in pain as his throat was racked with flames.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. _

The sound of the large, beating hearts called to him, making his ears ring and his mouth flood with the strange, bitter liquid as he stood, fixated on them. His feet began to move forward against his will.

_No! Stop! Stop this! _His mind screamed at him. Blinking his eyes several times quickly, he hoped to steady himself. He exhaled sharply, his throat searing with pain once again as he tried to regain his control.

Suddenly, something glimmering in the moonlight caught his eyes. Before he could even finish the thought, he was at a trough where there was water for the animals. He cupped his hands together and filled them with the rancid smelling water. Paying no mind to the smell, he began to drink. He drank mouthful after mouthful, stopping finally to see if the burning had decreased.

But the fire raged on.

He let out a tearless sob; nothing would make the fire go away. He had to get away from the city before he did something that would put another life in danger. His mind had been made up. It was time to leave London.

Dragging himself up, he took one last long look at the edge of the city before turning towards the hills and running. He ran and ran until he was certain he was far enough away not to be tempted to harm anyone.

Turning back, he saw the faint lights that lined the cobblestone and dirt roads of the city he had grown up in and lived his entire life.

Hanging his head, he let his body be wracked with another tearless cry. That life was over. He was living a different life now. _He was damned._

He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there, staring at London from a distance when the sun began to rise over the far hills to the east.

_How ironic that the sun decides to shine on the same day that I wake up as a creature of the darkness… _he thought bitterly to watched as the sun's rays began to awaken the city, crawling over it inch by inch as it made its way to the center of the sky. The clouds nearby threatened to cover it as they usually did in London, but the light shone through.

When the sight of his abandoned city became too much, he turned and began to walk slowly through the hilly woods. He closed his eyes as he walked, blinking slowly as he tried to decide what to do with himself. He was suddenly distracted by several beams of light hitting the leaves on the plants and trees around him. The sunlight poured through the thick foliage where he walked, allowing small rays to hit his skin and warm it.

Carlisle stopped suddenly, holding up his hand into a beam of the sunlight. His skin shone in the light unlike anything he had ever seen before. The millions of facets on his stony skin shone brighter than the jewels he had seen adorned on the ladies at court. One glance at his skin would put their prized diamonds and rubies to shame.

He was horrified.

The reflections bounced off of every flat, green surface around him, making the sunny forest look like it had been coated with diamonds and emeralds. He gasped loudly, touching his face and arms, trying to see if it could be washed away.

His throat burned and tightened again, making him recoil violently. The reflections bounced and gleamed on the leaves around him as he broke into a run. He had to hide himself, and fast. If anyone caught sight of him, they would know he was a monster for sure.

He darted through the forest, trying to find a place to hide himself from the sun and from any eyes that might happen to be out in the forest. He ran and ran, growing more and more panicked with each second that went by and he wasn't protected from the light that made him flash like a warning light to everyone around him.

Finally, he found it. The secluded cave sat behind the rocky waterfall that he had located near the mouth of a river, far from the sunlight. He had been there for days.

He sat in the darkness, hanging his head in silent prayer as his throat burned on and on. He had lost count of how many days he had spent in the solitude of the dark cavern, the only sound around him the rushing water that flowed quickly over the entrance of his hiding place. He listened to the sound of the water flowing over the jagged rocks and falling into the pool below, wincing as the sound mocked him. The water he had greedily consumed by the horse troughs had done nothing to quench his thirst; in fact, he was fairly certain it had made it worse.

The stale liquid had sat in his stomach for days; he could feel it. He had wretched and coughed to get it out, and it had been a painstakingly slow process that he did not enjoy. In the sunless days since he had found the cave, he had made several discoveries about his new body, and each one more horrifying than the other.

He couldn't drink, he couldn't eat; his body no longer passed anything through it. And worst of all, he could not sleep. He never grew tired, he never was uncomfortable, even on the rocky floor of the cave, and he never felt his stomach turn with hunger.

The fire in his throat still raged on.

He winced as he thought of how positively singed his throat felt. Raising his hand, he cupped the outside of it, feeling it slowly. It didn't feel hot or charred like it seemed like it should.

His eyes fell on the remains of the wooden stake he had crafted from a piece of driftwood he had found in the corner of his dark cave. He had carved it carefully and painstakingly, making it as sharp as he could by rubbing it for hours against the granite rocks of the cave walls. Carlisle cringed at the memory. At the end of the first day he had attempted to drive the stake into his heart, only to find that it splintered into dust upon impact against his skin. He had looked at himself in disbelief; not even a mark was on his ivory chest.

When that had failed, he had submerged himself into the cool water on the other side of the waterfall, hoping to fill his lungs and drown in the depths of the pool. After almost an hour of trying, he swam to the surface and coughed up all the water that he had inhaled.

His last attempt at suicide had failed the most miserably of them all. Waiting for nightfall, he followed the river down to where it met the sea to find tall cliffs that rose above the crashing waves. He had easily scaled the sharp rocks and dove off the highest peak, only to land like a feather on the ground below.

He snorted to himself as he lay against the walls of the cave. Had he been a fool to think that he and his father could have killed the creatures that lurked in the London sewers? Yes. Every single way they had planned to kill the creatures had been proven useless by his fruitless attempts at suicide. He couldn't be killed. It was hopeless; he was damned to this fiery, torturous life forever. He couldn't even end it himself.

Looking towards the entrance of the dark cave that had become his home, he saw that darkness was falling on the day once again. He sat, still as the stones that supported him, and stared lazily into the bleakness.

Suddenly, the wind shifted and brought with it a scent that made his mouth water and his throat go up in flames even more than he thought possible. _Surely_ it was singed black from the heat by now, but he couldn't think of that. The only thing he could think about was the smell that was floating though the walls of the cave where he sat.

He couldn't' take it anymore.

His body took over his brain and he barely registered that he was flying through the cave and through the water, crashing into the waterfall.

Beating hearts had traveled too close, and for that, they would meet their demise. He lunged towards them and attacked.

He couldn't think; his eyes couldn't see; he couldn't breathe. He couldn't do anything but give into the thirst. His mouth was positively dripping with fluid-which he decided by now was venom- making it hard to think about anything but the beating hearts that pumped blood through the veins of the creatures in front of him. He had one thought, and it stood out in his clouded mind like a beacon of light in a hurricane.

Blood.

As soon as the thick, delicious smelling liquid hit his lips, he quickly drained the squirming body that he held clenched in his hands. His ears barely registered the sickening crunch that the bones beneath his hands made as he drained body after body, his senses overpowering him. The smell was too much to bear, and soon nothing else mattered but the scarlet liquid that was quickly sating him and cooling the fires that had raged in his throat for days.

Relief, at last.

_No…no! This is wrong! I can't do this…I'm a demon…._

Once the fire in his throat had been put out, his eyes glazed over in panic for what he had just done. He squeezed his eyes shut and retreated back to the cave, streaking into the darkness to hide once more.

He cowered there, his jaw clenched and his hand covering his mouth tightly. Pulling it back slightly , he winced again when he saw the traces of blood that lingered there.

He was a murderer.

He had done the very thing he promised himself he wouldn't do.

_He had fed._

Carlisle covered his eyes in despair. It was three days later, and he hadn't moved from his position of cowering in shame on the stone floor of his cave. He rubbed his eyes and looked up towards the entrance, noticing that the sun had shown itself once again.

He exhaled sharply as he felt his throat again. After he had committed the murders, one after the other and fed, the fire had been put out. He no longer suffered. But at what cost? He had brought death, plain and simple.

As if to remind him of his heinous actions, the shining sun beat down on the rotting carcasses of his victims outside the cave. The smell of the dead bodies rotting and decomposing had tortured him for almost an entire day now, and he was sure that it would only get worse.

_They deserve a proper burial…I owe it to them, and to God, even if I am damned. _

He paused, asking God silently for the strength to do what he knew he had to. Rising up, he slowly exited the cave and stepped into the waiting sunlight. He winced at the bright light and sucked in a last breath as the horrid stench of his victims hit his nose.

He walked to the shores of the water where he had fed and slowly raised his eyes, bracing himself for the sight of the mangled, drained bodies.

But there were none.

He frowned in disbelief as his eyes found nothing but deer carcasses. Deer. Only deer. A heard of eight of them lay scattered on the shores of the river, their bodies mangled and drained, just as he had suspected.

_They must have come to the water's edge to get a drink…and I…drained them…I drained deer, not people, _he thought, looking around him in bewilderment. He grasped his blonde, messy hair tightly, the feeling of his fingers breaking him from his shock.

He had committed a murder, but it was none more terrible than he had done in his human life when he had eaten veal and other animals. He cowered away from the rotting animals slightly, still ashamed for what he had done, but he was mainly relieved that he hadn't done what he had feared.

He had not killed a human.

Looking up at the sky, he ignored the rotten smell and fell to his knees in silent prayer. As the sunlight hit his skin and made him shimmer and sparkle, he prayed to God. He prayed for the strength to continue resisting humans; he prayed for permission to feed on animals, and most importantly, he prayed for hope.

He would not be able to return to his beloved city ever again and risk being seen – he knew this for sure. He would have to go somewhere far away and start over, avoiding humans at all cost. It was going to be a lonely life, indeed, but he was sure that he could do it if it meant that he wouldn't harm anyone else.

His mind had been made. Staying to the woods, he would be able to stay away from temptation and near the animals that would satisfy him and make him not want to harm innocents.

Raising his face to the sky, he inhaled quietly as he made his promise to himself. Slowly, he buried the bodies of the drained deer, patting the damp earth over the shallow graves he had dug for them. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he stood and brushed the dirt and soil off his hands before taking a look around the pond and cave that had been his safe haven for his first lonely week as a vampire.

_Vampire._

The word still made his stomach turn with fear and uncertainty, but, as he looked to the sky and muttered another silent prayer, he secured his resolve to only do good. He began to walk further into the woods, clenching his razor sharp teeth in determination for this new goal.

His mind was made up, and his promise to God had been made. To wander the world and kill at random was not in his nature, vampire urges be damned. He might be immortal, he might be a monster, and he might be eternally cursed, but he still had hope.


	2. Jasper : 1863

**Jasper - 1863**

He squinted, his eyes transfixed to the western sky as the sun set slowly. Wiping his eyes, he tried to remove the dust that felt caked onto his face from the past few days of travel across the desolate Texan landscape.

He had always had a bleak love affair with the south and its dry heat, rolling dusty plains and view of the Gulf, but today, he was ready to be somewhere cool and quiet. It was January 2nd, 1863. The battle for Galveston Harbor had been won by the Confederates, and as a major, he was selected to travel even further south along the coast to Brownsville to secure the Confederate hold on the town. The battle on New Year's Day had been a grueling one; more than once it didn't seem like they would win that fight. But the South had held, and eventually won out over the North.

He patted his horse as they slowly trotted into the camp that was set up for the night. The tents were secured in the shadow of a mountain range that ran along the coast, hiding them from the remnants of the hot sun that still peeked out above the ridges.

Dismounting swiftly, he tied up his horse and strode towards the larger tents that were set up for the higher ranking men. Soldiers nodded at him respectfully as he passed, his long legs carrying him quickly to the wash tent that had been erected.

It had been a long, hot day full of travel, and all he wanted now was a bath, a bottle of whiskey, and a woman. He made a chagrined face to himself as he realized that out there in rural Texas, the first of his two wishes were the only ones that would be granted to him this evening.

He was young for a Major; only twenty-years-old. He had moved up quickly through the ranks of the Confederate Army, glad to finally have meaning and purpose added to his life. Back home, he had been nothing but a common, poor farm hand to his father. Now, people looked at him with respect when they saw the markings on his uniform that showed his bravery and responsibility. Here, he was actually somebody of importance and value. Here, he could do something that mattered.

Later that evening, the adrenaline from the past few days was still flowing through him with vigor. His drive for battle made him a challenging match for anyone he came in contact with; he was not one to be trifled with. He sighed heavily as he tossed the quill he was using to write a letter to his mother down on the parchment, feeling too restless to write anymore tonight.

Holding back the fold to his tent, he looked out at the skyline to the west; the sun had almost set, and the weather was cooling noticeably. He grabbed his flask and decided to take a stroll.

He walked for a few miles in the twilight, enjoying the coolness that the nighttime brought to the Texan plains. He walked up on top of a hill to sit and enjoy the view of the sun as it finally dipped below the horizon, sipping the warm whiskey through his cracked lips as he watched. Pushing his honey-blonde hair away from his eyes, he grimaced slightly as the warm, spicy liquid slid down his throat, numbing him pleasantly.

He hoped that the war was almost over; he had been traveling for too long, and he was hoping to go back to a big city like Austin and make a life for himself. He wanted his own house, a woman, and even a family. He smiled to himself as he took another swallow from his flask. Thanks in large part to his service in the war; he would have more than enough funds to do so as well.

The crickets chirping soon brought him back to the current moment, and he stood slowly, feeling the effects of the whiskey on his tired, sore limbs. He chuckled to himself as he loped down the hill he had been sitting on, stumbling clumsily on the way down. He could see the lights from the camp, just a few miles away, and he began his quiet walk in the enjoyable cool night air.

He walked slowly, kicking rocks and sticks on the way, not particularly in a hurry to get back to his tent; he knew sleep wouldn't come for awhile yet. The moon was bright and high in the sky as he ambled along, not paying much attention to anything.

"My my…what do we have here?"

He whipped his head around, his body rigid with surprise at the sound of the velvety voice. His tense face immediately slackened when he caught sight of the three women standing in front of him.

To say that they were beautiful was an understatement. The three of them stood, their pale skin positively glowing in the moonlight that shone in the Texan sky. The tallest, a dark haired Mexican woman, stood in the middle of the three, her black hair shining vibrantly as it blew gently. Another, smaller woman with long, golden blonde hair, stood to her left, and another , round faced younger girl with dark brown hair was to her right. He was awestruck for a few moments before finding his tongue.

"I….I'm sorry ma'am," he drawled, gesturing towards the first woman. "I didn't know anyone else would be out here at this hour."

The three stood still as statues, all staring at him intently for a few moments before the woman in the center spoke suddenly.

"Major Whitlock you are, yes?" she asked, her accent soaking the words. Jasper stared at her, completely captivated by what he could see of her perfect features in the darkness. The smaller, blonde woman looked at her sideways and smiled slyly, her eyes darting back to look at him.

"Yes, ma'am, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you?" he asked slowly, still very unsure what these three women were doing out there in the dark.

"Yes, yes it is. You'll have to forgive me, Major, but we've been watching you all evening and you've…piqued my interest, I'm afraid," she purred, licking her red lips in a taunting manner.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, stepping closer. He could have sworn he heard her…._growl. _

He straightened himself out, pulling his jacket into better order and pursed his lips in thought. _They have been watching me?_

"We've watched him all night, Maria, he's just right…"

"Calm yourself, Nettie," the taller woman hissed, not breaking her eye contact with Jasper.

"He's perfect – she's right. I want to go home. I hate it up north…get on with it," the small blonde woman grumbled, crossing her arms tightly around her chest.

Maria, as he learned the tall one was named, kept her sight on Jasper. She smiled, her white teeth glowing in the moonlight.

"Yes, you're right girls. We can carry him back while he changes…he smells too good to risk taking him back home all…human," she purred again, looking him up and down.

Jasper's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. _These women want to take me home? All three? Why…._

Still, he couldn't ignore the fact that their words and topic of conversation were strange.

"I…smell good?" He stuttered, running a hand through his hair, smiling sheepishly. "Miss, I've been traveling for three days now, and I don't think I could smell too peachy if you ask me," he said, his southern accent covering his words.

The three women exchanged knowing glances as they laughed together, the noise ringing off the rocky mountain walls around them.

"I was right…you'll be a fine addition for us. A fine one indeed," Maria said slowly, stepping forward closer to him.

"Now don't go draining him Maria, he's no use to us empty!" The smaller, round faced woman laughed quietly. Maria laughed and stepped even closer to him, her flowery scent wafting towards him in pleasant waves.

Jasper recoiled slightly as the light from the moon caught her eyes. They were positively glowing red.

"You're…your eyes…." He gasped, raising a hand slightly in shock. He backed up, suddenly frightened as the hairs on his arms stood up.

Maria smiled, exposing her teeth as she reached out a long, ivory arm to him. Her icy cold hands secured themselves around his wrist, pulling him into a steel hold against her chest.

"You like my eyes?" she whispered quickly. "You'll especially like your own then." His eyes widened as her teeth glinted before sinking into his neck like a razor into butter.

And then everything went black. And warm. _Too warm_. Hot. _Fire…_

The women crowded around him in the tent, fully sated, waiting for him to awaken. They waited for almost three days. As the sun set at the end of the second day, he shook violently as his body convulsed from so much pain and horror as his heart thumped it's last beats.

The air in his lungs flew out in a large gust, and he struggled to suck in more as his eyes flew open.

_Where am I? What happened? Why do I feel….anxious? Anticipation?_

His body stiffened at the strange new scents around him. He flew up from the military cot where he laid, his body coiling into a defensive crouch. He was overcome with new feelings now as he his eyes frantically flew around the room.

The three women stood frozen along the back of the tent, eyeing him carefully as he crouched and ready to spring at the first sign of danger. Instead, a muffled noise caught his attention from the corner.

He laid his eyes on a young man that was bound and gagged, his own eyes wide and wild as he shook with fear. Jasper straightened out his body, his attention now fully on the boy in the corner.

The blonde woman made a move towards him, but Maria held out her arm to stop her. She looked up at her in question, but turned her attention back to watch Jasper. The third woman merely stood in the corner, an amused smirk on her face as she watched.

Japer looked around the small tent wildly, his hand flying up to his throat as he began to realize that it felt like it was on fire.

"Yes, my young solider…" Maria whispered, inching closer to him. "You feel the fire of the thirst, yes?"

Jasper nodded, feeling his cool skin. He felt…different…almost…like stone, definitely invincible. Looking at her, his breath caught in his throat as he saw her for what felt like the first time. Her bronze skin looked like a fine layer of white powder had been spread over it; it was even and breathtakingly smooth. Her crimson eyes glowed with power and knowledge as she looked at him closely, her red lips pursed into an impressed smirk. She raised her chin deftly, looking at him with an amused stare.

He suddenly felt fear, but he paused. The fear was not his own…it was just present in his emotions. It was like he could _feel_ it emulating from somewhere in the room. He looked at the boy who was now panting through his mouth gag and sweating profusely in the Texas heat. Jasper's mind realized that he could see him crystal clear, even in the darkness of the unlit army tent.

The flames licked at his throat, daring him to move towards the struggling boy.

"Yes, my Jasper. The boy will make the fire stop. You must go to him, he will stop the burning," she purred, stepping closer to him. Jasper panted as the feelings of fear and horror washed over him, almost crippling him. He was confused; he wasn't afraid of anything at the moment. He felt powerful and unstoppable.

He inched closer to the wriggling boy, his mouth filling with a strange liquid as he licked his lips and blinked slowly. Stepping closer to him, the intoxicating smell coming from the vein pulsing in his strained throat caught his attention. It throbbed as if it was calling to him…

_Tha-thump. Tha thump. .. Jas-per. Jas-per._

His wild, frantic heartbeat quickly sped even faster as Jasper appeared closer to him in a flash. He didn't even notice his incredible speed. He didn't notice the women around him, or the smell of dead bodies that littered the ground around them. All he could focus on was the burn in his throat and the delightful small coming from underneath that pulsing vein.

"Yes," Maria chanted in his ear. "Yes, he is for you Jasper," she breathed.

The boy cried out in horror as Jasper suddenly lunged forward, sinking his teeth into his jugular. The puncture in his neck caused his cries to gurgle off and he eventually silenced, his body falling limp, dead.

But Jasper didn't care.

He sucked greedily at the wound his teeth had created, not caring about the decreasing feeling of fear as it left the young boy's body. He gripped the body tighter and tighter, not even noticing when the bones in his body began to snap and crunch under his iron grasp. He savored every single drop of the crimson liquid as it slid down his throat in thick bursts, slowly smothering the fire that resided there.

He lifted the body in his arms, feeling the weight of it. When he was certain he had been drained dry, he tossed it to the opposite side of the tent with a flourish, jumping to his feet in a flash.

He met eyes with Maria. The other two women stood on either side of her, their stances defensive or ready to pounce.

"Hello again," she said simply.

He nodded, still panting slightly from the thrill of his first feed.

"My name is Maria. I am your new master. These are my friends, Nettie and Lucy. You will not attack us. We own you now," she said quietly, but firmly.

He was overwhelmed with the emotions running through him; once again, he managed to realize that they were not _his own_ emotions…but then where was he getting them?

Shoving the thought to the side, he focused on the beauty that was Maria in front of him. Her long, wavy black hair hung down her sides, framing her low-cut dress and cleavage perfectly. He was captivated by her crimson red eyes, having never seen anything like them before in his life.

"Jasper," she said enticingly, reaching up to his face. She stroked his cheek softly, running her smooth finger down his jaw line. He blinked slowly, savoring the feeling of her touch on his stony skin.

"Maria," he echoed, opening his eyes to meet hers. She traced a finger over his lips, wiping a stray drop of blood from them. Laughing quietly, she placed her finger in her mouth, licking it clean.

He exhaled sharply, completely captivated by her magnificence. She smiled and laughed her tinkling laugh, her red eyes dancing with glee.

"Sit," she said, pointing to the cot where he had burned.

He sat obediently, his eyes falling unsettlingly on Nettie and Lucy, who still stood at her side.

"Now, I tell you what we are," she said slowly, lowering herself to sit on the chair across from him.

"What happened to me?" he asked, his hand moving to enclose his smooth throat. He licked his lips, the blood still fresh. He seemed to fall out of his trance as his eyes fell on the corpse in the corner. Suddenly, he just realized what he had just done.

"I…I killed that boy," he stuttered, pointing to the limp body in the corner. Maria nodded, waving him off with a flourish.

"Yes, well…he was too young. No use to us. He was not strong and bold like my new Jasper!" she said, her Spanish accent dripping over the words.

He looked at her incredulously, not sure what to say. "Never mind that," she said quickly, taking his hand in hers. "You will stay with me now. You no longer have to worry about silly human troubles, or this war they fight in the Americas…now, we go south."

"South?"

She nodded quickly, her crimson eyes flashing as waves of excitement rolled off of her. "Jasper, I can offer you a position of much power – one much more powerful than the one you hold in this army. Would you like to have more? More power?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

Jasper breathed in her sweet, floral scent as he stared at her, suddenly intoxicated with the idea. "Power?"

"Yes…so much. I put you in charge of an army…a different army."

"You have an army?" he asked her skeptically.

"I have quite an army where I am from," she answered seriously, rubbing his hand enticingly. "It is different than these weak men here."

"Men? I am a man. We are the Confederate army of the South, ma'am-"

"You are no longer a man, my Jasper," she hissed, cutting him off. She gripped his hands together in hers, her crimson eyes set aflame with passion and excitement as she spoke.

"No longer…?"

"No. You are not a man…anymore. You are vampire," she whispered, feelings of urgency and power rolling off of her as she spoke.

"Vampire?" he echoed, his eyes growing wide with fear.

"Yes, and we will leave this place to go to my home."

"Where are we going?" he asked frantically, and she smiled with satisfaction.

"Mexico."

Jasper followed her out of the tent after they finished explaining everything to him. He was now a vampire. A general in Maria's army of vampires. She was on a mission for them to take the Mexican city of Monterrey for their own, and for one reason only: humans.

The city of Monterrey was the most populated city in the northern half of Mexico at the moment, and Jasper learned quickly how important it was that vampires needed plenty of humans to feed from. She had been fighting for control of the city since a rival coven of vampires had attempted to take over and expose her. Furious, she had left with her adopted sisters in search of help.

He looked over at Maria, and she smiled warmly at him as they walked into the moonlight. He followed her eyes as she looked out at the field where his army had put up their tents for the night.

He gasped at what he saw.

Nearly twenty bodies were sprawled disorderly on the ground, drained and lifeless in the darkness. They had all been mauled and emptied of blood, left on the ground like debris.

His fuzzy mind stretched and fought to remember these men; their faces were all familiar. He suddenly realized with horror as his human memories returned to him that these were the men that had fought beside him in battle; they were the men that served with him.

"So many lost…" he mumbled, pushing his blonde hair back and out of his eyes.

"Yes, well," she trailed off, dusting off her long skirt. "We took what we needed and chased the rest south…they ran ahead towards the next town, but we will meet them before they reach it. They will make for a nice snack in a few days, love," she finished, tousling his wavy hair.

Jasper stared at her, trying not to show his horror and disgust. Feelings of pride and satisfaction emulated from her as she glanced carelessly at the bodies that lay littered all over the ground.

_It was as if a great battle was fought here…_ he thought to himself. He swallowed, his throat already burning again for more of the sweet liquid that had tamed the flames a few hours ago. He felt guilty as he thought about what he had done; he had murdered the innocent boy without so much as a second thought.

Maria looked at him, a smile spreading slowly over her face. She glanced at Lucy and Nettie, her smile disappearing.

"Now….we bury them. The last thing we need is silly men on our tails!" she shrieked, waving her hand at the three of them.

Nettie and Lucy were moving in a flash. Jasper blinked rapidly as he watched them begin to dig a large hole in the middle of the army's campsite, completely horrified. Marie looked at him expectantly, turning her head to glare at him with her glowing red eyes.

"Maria, we cannot bury these men out here in a mass grave, in the middle of nowhere!" he begged, suddenly feeling the remorse hit him in waves. "They deserve a proper burial, with headstones and a passage from the Bible-"

She grabbed his arm tightly, pulling him to her. "When I say go….you go!" she hissed at him, shoving him forward. Jasper looked at her in amazement, unsure what she meant.

"Dig!" she shrieked at him again, her satanic eyes widening with rage. The feeling of power and finality hit him suddenly, and he had to stand firm in order to not double over with the weight of the emotions.

He did as he was told, unsure if he wanted to see Maria truly angry. He winced as he dug the shallow hole with his hands, his speed coming to his advantage. Lucy tossed him the limp, lifeless bodies of the men that had fought next to him in battle, wincing when he saw the face of someone he had known.

When the bodies were covered and the tents all burned, Maria ushered them to the road to begin the trip down to Monterrey. They ran for several days, much to Jasper's surprise. Although he was still horrified at what he had done, he was quickly intoxicated by his newfound speed and strength. He could lift and toss boulders like they were nothing more than pebbles; he could swim under the ocean surf for hours without taking a breath; he could run a hundred times faster than any horse.

They continued to make their way south along the coast of the Gulf, stopping only a few times to feed. Jasper hated the ritual, but soon learned that the burning in his throat would not go away unless sated by the nectar from a human's jugular.

He winced, setting the lifeless body down, his thirst finally sated. His throat had been ablaze with flames for hours, and Maria had finally allowed them to stop so that he could feed. They had found the rest of the soldiers that had escaped the first night when he was turned, and they made a quick meal of the rest of them. There could be no survivors.

He had been wracked with pain and emotion as he drained several men that he could indeed recognize. The emotions that they emulated were pain, fear, horror, disgust, sorrow. They were horrified at the monsters as they glittered in the sunlight before they killed; they were full of sorrow when they knew they were about to die and would never return home; and mostly, they were full of pain as their teeth sliced into the paper thin skin of their throats while they fed.

Jasper learned quickly that humans did not die right away as they were being drained. No matter how hard he tried, it still took nearly half a minute of inhumane suffering before they were drained of life and blood.

Jasper dropped the human he had just fed on and stood, wiping the remnants of his meal from his mouth with his tattered sleeve. Maria smiled at him from a few yards away where she had just finished draining her own meal for the day.

"Come," she growled, pulling her upper lip back over her teeth slightly. He followed her obediently as she ushered them further south. By the time they arrived in Mexico, Jasper was relieved. He was looking forward to having some time alone so that he could figure things out. The last few days of his new life had been a blur, even for his new vampire mind.

He had figured out that he could feel the emotions of the people or vampires around him; he soaked in whatever feelings they had, able to read and access them with incredible speed.

His talent was not a pleasant one.

Each man he drained seemed to feel more horror and pain in his last moments than the one before. They sometimes went silently, wanting to die bravely, but some screamed and fought before death found them. It was the quiet ones that hurt him the most. Their silence while they were drained of life stabbed him in his dead heart, and he carried their deaths with him wherever he went.

Jasper looked around the dreary, dusty ghost town. As if on cue, a dead, dried bush blew across the bleak looking gravel street that ran down the center of the town. The desert wind blew across his face, but he didn't notice. He was watching Maria.

She strode into the abandoned little town with Lucy and Nettie on their respective sides of her, waiting for their orders. Jasper followed obediently, suddenly aware of all the eyes on him. A group of twenty vampires stood off to the side, their stony skin glittering in the afternoon sun. Their eyes glowed crimson with fresh blood, and they stood as still as an oil painting while they waited for their orders.

"Tonight," Maria began, walking up to them slowly. "We fight. We practice our technique for two days. Then, we go to the city. We fight the enemy, we destroy them. And then….we feed!" she howled, raising up her arms in triumph.

The young vampires around her growled and hissed in agreement, the crimson eyes lighting up at the mention of feeding and fighting – two of their most beloved activities.

Jasper learned quickly that newborn vampires were the most volatile of all vampires; their human blood still flowing in their veins gave them power that could rarely be contested against. They were also wild and mood-driven; they became overly emotional fairly quickly when barely provoked.

He was no exception to this rule.

Several minutes after their arrival in the small, dusty town, Maria gathered Lucy and Nettie with her in the middle of the street, standing in front of Jasper with feelings of pride and power rolling off her. He closed his eyes and savored the emotions that came from her in waves; it was almost like he could soak them up and store them to feel later.

"Jasper," she purred in her usual, velvety voice. "I want you to fight Lucy…she will show you how to train the newborns to fight. They must be quick, fearless….and not be afraid to die!" she added, her crimson eyes lighting up.

Jasper nodded, turning towards the small blonde on her left side. Lucy was pale and petite, her blonde hair gathered into a long braid that hung down the side of her neck. Her crimson eyes glowed, but not as vibrantly as Maria's seemed to. Lucy looked tiny next to Maria's frame, but he was not about to underestimate her.

Lucy hissed, her body flying into an attacker's stance, the rest of the vampires around them quickly dissipating from the battle that was about to take place. Jasper concentrated on the feelings coming off of Lucy - confidence, but with an underlying feeling of fear added on top of that.

She looked at him, smiling an evil smile that exposed her teeth to him. He looked around at the other vampires watching them, and he felt a growl rumble deep in his throat. He was not about to be made a fool of.

He mimicked her stance, and the two began to dance and stalk each other in a tight circle, both trying to debate how to attack. Maria watched off to the side, hissing with delight as she watched the two of them prepare to spar.

"Yes, Jasper…let your instincts guide you…feel the power of the animal inside you!" she squealed with delight as he sunk even further down into his crouch.

Lucy hissed at her sideways, visibly annoyed that Maria would help him over her. Jasper read the feelings of jealousy and hate that rolled off of her and recoiled slightly, shocked at the vigor of her emotions. She took her opportunity, growling fiercely, and sprang.

Jasper walked into the large building where he could smell Maria's scent. He and Lucy had sparred for almost an hour straight, and she had beaten him several times, stopping just before she would have normally ripped him apart. Although she was aggressive and quick, she had taught Jasper a lot about fighting as a vampire. It was not like fighting as a human solider.

He was already amazed with his speed and strength, and it was almost an unbelievable high to know how powerful he had become.

Looking around, he decided that the large building in the center of the town was once been a hotel. The downstairs hosted a large room with a bar on one side. Overlooking the big downstairs room was a balcony lined with individual rooms that had been rented out to patrons when it was a functioning town. Bullet holes decorated the walls; broken glass lay everywhere, and everything was covered with a thick layer of dust as nothing had been touched for years. Once inside the abandoned hotel, he looked around at the other young vampires who stood around the room, being babysat in a sense, by Nettie, who was perched on the bar, a bored expression on her face.

Unlike Lucy, Nettie was an older vampire who was actually Maria's real sister. Her short, slightly round stature and oval face made her not as attractive as Maria, but her vampire state made her appealing all the same.

"Maria wants to speak with you…Upstairs," she said in a low voice, giving him an amused expression.

Jasper nodded, flashing up the creaky steps to the room where Maria's scent was most potent. He entered the small bedroom, his eyes falling to the floor when he saw her sprawled on the bed in her undergarments.

She laughed haughtily when he averted his eyes, holding out her hand to beckon him. "Jasper, come," she growled.

He obeyed immediately. Over the past few days he had seen what happened to those who did not obey her. Maria had no patience for those who didn't' follow her orders, and quickly at that. He winced slightly when he thought of the vampires he had seen ravaged and pulled to pieces; Maria didn't have room in her army for rambunctious vampires.

He sat on the bed, still inches away from her, his eyes on the floor. He was not used to seeing a woman this unclothed before, even if he had lied and bragged about it to his friends in the service.

"Jasper? What is wrong?" she asked, her Spanish accent falling over her words.

"Maria…I…I don't wish to make you unhappy, but I don't want to be disrespectful to ya," he replied, looking at her quickly.

She laughed again, grabbing his arm to pull him close. "Trust me, Jasper. Together, we will be _quite_ happy," she said before forcing her mouth onto his. He paused slightly, reading the feelings of lust and the usual feeling of power that emulated from her.

Pushing him back slightly, she moved to straddle his hips on the bed, moving against his body erotically. "I saw how you fought Lucy…you are a natural fighter Mr. Whitlock…I'm very happy that you've joined me," she purred.

Her red lips moved against his, and he could taste the remnants of her last meal on her tongue as she kissed him forcefully. He felt his body begin to respond to her as she kissed him, again and again as they fell back onto the old mattress together.

* * *

The next few days were full of nonstop training. Maria had made it clear that he only had two duties; training her army and making her happy. Making Maria happy included several things.

His main job as one of Maria's close knit coven was to train the new vampires that were brought to the little abandoned town where they stayed. They were about fifty miles away from the city of Monterrey, way on the outskirts of the city.

The four of them were assembled in the bar of the abandoned, gritty hotel one evening as the sun had set on the little town. Maria had gathered the twenty or so vampires that had already been in the town when they met. The waited anxiously for them to get started.

The last few days had been a whirlwind for Jasper. He and Maria had barely left the shabby little room, or the bed for that matter. He was absolutely intoxicated by her power and beauty and seemed to shine forth from her as she stood in the dark room, her crimson eyes scanning the followers she had assembled.

He had asked her to leave several times to feed, but she had grabbed his wrists and begun the cycle all over again of offering herself to him willingly. Needless to say, he had been easy to distract for those long hours.

"Three days," she had purred to him, stroking her perfect hand down his chest. "Then we shall be able to leave and see what a gift I have assembled for you!" she giggled playfully, digging her fingernail into his cheek. He had been a bit confused why they would have to wait three days, but he did not want to question her. Ever.

So now they stood on the evening of the third day, waiting in the shabby bar to see what she had done. Jasper looked over at Nettie, who was standing beside him, looking bored as usual.

"What are we waiting for?" he whispered, his red eyes full of question. She shrugged, giving him a knowing smile. "You'll see," she replied.

He looked around the long forgotten hotel and turned back to her. "This town been empty long?" he asked.

She glowered at him, then rolled her eyes. "What?" he asked.

She turned to look in the direction of the back windows of the bar, and his gaze followed hers. There, behind the bar and outside the windows was a large hole that looked like it had been sloppily filled in, the center sagging down a few inches further than the rest of the untouched ground around it.

It was a mass grave, much like the one he had to help dig for all the victims that scattered the ground back at his army camp, when he first woke up as a vampire.

His useless stomach turned, and he growled as a feeling of pride and satisfaction rolled off of Nettie.

"That's disgusting," he spat at her quietly, turning back to face forward.

She snorted a laugh and shook her head.

Maria cleared her throat, and every vampire's attention was immediately drawn back to her. "We shall move to the big city in five days. We go at night, we come quietly, we kill all others in the way. No humans will see us," she said simply. "Then…all of the blood will be for us, my children," she added with a low growl. The others hissed in agreement, their crimson eyes widening.

She stalked out of the bar, motioning for them all to follow her. She broke into a run, and Jasper, Lucy, and Nettie all followed her closely, the other small group trailing not far behind. Jasper wasn't sure where they were off to, but he decided against asking questions. They ran for almost an hour, due east towards the Gulf. When they reached the ocean, she led them over a tall rock base and peered over the edge. The rest of them followed all hungry to see what she had in store for them.

Jasper braced himself and looked over the edge of the tall rocks down into the beach canyon. There, lying haphazardly on the ground as if they had been dumped, were bodies. Only, they weren't dead.

Maria cackled to herself as they began to stir, almost all at once. Jasper counted quickly; there were nearly two hundred of them down in the canyon, all beginning to move and wake up.

He suddenly cried out, the brick wall of emotions coming off of them and hitting him with full force. He fell to his knees, gripping the sides of his head and then his chest as their confused, volatile, and rampantly wild emotions all collided with him simultaneously.

Below, the newborn vampires began to stand, their crimson eyes glowing fiercely as they realized that something about them was different; new, and powerful. They had been reborn.

Maria paid little attention to Jasper as he doubled over with the force of their combined feelings, turning her eyes downward to look upon her new army.

"You have been saved, my children. My family has rescued you all from a life of pain, regret, poverty, and mortality!" she yelled with a hiss, motioning to the vampires that stood beside her. The newborns below hissed and growled, several of them getting so excited that they began to move in celebration.

Jasper winced as one bumped into another, and then another accidentally brushed against another and got too close, triggering their defenses. Then the fighting began.

They ripped and tore at each other, growling and howling as nearly ten or fifteen of them began to brawl. Their emotions were wild with confusion and hate as they tumbled, jeering and egging each other on. He exhaled sharply, digging his hands into his honey blonde hair in frustration and pain.

He looked up at Maria from the ground, his red eyes screaming with desperation. "Maria…all of these people..." he gasped, glancing down at them again.

He quickly counted; nearly nine of them were gone already; ripped to pieces and scattered on the ground as the rest of them looked on, their faces void of any remorse.

"They're like wild animals…how could you do this to all of those innocent people?" he gasped, wincing again from the torturous flow of feelings being slung at him from the wild newborns below.

"Yes, my Jasper, they are like animals. Wild, untamed animals. We shall train them; teach them to work together and fight. We will take the city quickly, with almost no resistance!" she said excitedly, her crimson eyes lighting up with a passionate glint.

Jasper recoiled against the ground, looking back at the crowd of confused and unstable newborn vampires. His dormant stomach twisted as he cringed, his fingers digging in the dirt as he struggled to hold onto his sanity despite the emotions around him. He looked up at her as she stood, her teeth and eyes shining in the moonlight.

"Maria…what have you done?"

Well there was Jasper! Hope you all enjoyed my take on his first few weeks as a newborn vampire…next we head north to the city of Chicago, where Carlisle will encounter a young man and his mother, dying of Spanish Influenza…

**Edward** is up next!

Please let me know what you thought of Jasper…I did the best I could, but I think it would have taken him awhile to realize the full potential of his powers, like Bella did in Breaking Dawn. It was really something she had to practice and develop, just like a real skill. Thoughts?

Another big thanks to my awesome beta, **Rain-It-Shall** for dealing with my madness and spending a large part of her spring break editing for me. You rock!

I only hope that this story is as much fun to read as it is for me to write =)

The story will go in order of **what dates the characters have been changed in. The list is as follows:**

**Carlisle**

**Jasper**

Edward

Alice

Esme

Rosalie

Emmett

Sam

Jared

Paul

Embry

Jake

Quil

Leah

Seth

Colin

Brady

Renesmee

Bella

*****


	3. Edward : 1918

*drum roll please*

I give you Edward! This is my take on what happened in that Chicago hospital, so enjoy!

Also, I haven't gotten any feedback on this story yet….so if you like it, hate it, whatever….drop me line and let me know!

**Edward - 1918**

He stiffened as the young doctor's cool hands felt his head, then the glands in his throat, and finally his swollen cheeks. The fever he had had for days now continue to wrack his already weakened body. The influenza virus that had struck his entire family hit him last, and it had hit him with more vigor than expected for his young, strong, body.

He sucked in a breath of the chilly hospital air, wincing as it came in contact with his parched throat. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw that the young, blonde doctor was on duty that night.

Watching him, he waited as his pen scratched across his pad of paper before he tried to speak. The doctor paused, the end of his pen pressed against his lips, as if he was contemplating telling Edward something.

"My…m-mother…" Edward croaked, raising a frail hand toward the doctor. Dr. Cullen looked at the young boy, using his cool hand to gently press Edward's back down on the bed. He paused in thought for a moment, his strange golden eyes resting on the boy. Edward vaguely wondered what he was considering before taking another pained breath.

Edward could faintly hear a nurse in the background, tending to someone else in the long, large room where most of the flu patients were kept together.

"Doctor, would you like me to change the sheets now?" the nurse asked him quietly. Edward watched as Dr. Cullen tried to discreetly shake his head 'no'. He squeezed his eyes shut. It was as he feared; he was going to die, and soon.

"Name?" she asked the doctor quietly.

"Masen, Edward," the doctor replied, trying to appear casual. Edward closed his eyes again as the nurse scratched his name down on a pad, no doubt to make the proper preparations.

"Don't worry, nurse. Go ahead and take your break. I can handle things in this wing for at least an hour," he said quietly, earning a grateful smile from the young girl. She hurried away, removing her face mask that some of the nurses wore over their noses and mouths while they worked their shifts.

Dr. Cullen looked down at him, lowering himself to kneel beside the bed.

"Edward…I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but we just lost your mother. I did everything in my power to help her…but her immune system was just too weak. I'm sorry, son," he said softly, his eyes full of sorrow.

Edward opened his eyes halfway to look up at the apologetic doctor, his eyes filling with tears that he was too weak to wipe away.

Dr. Cullen swallowed slowly, his eyes never leaving his face. He reached over to the bedside table to dip the cold washcloth into a cup of water before dabbing Edward's swollen tongue and lips with it.

Edward breathed, his breaths becoming more and more uneven as he tried to muster the strength to speak.

"I'm…alone," he breathed, looking up dizzily at the young man. Dr. Cullen nodded sadly, his eyes falling to the floor.

"I'll be back to check on you in a little while. I have to finish my rounds. I'm sorry, my boy," he said quietly before rising and walking away.

The fever that wracked his body almost made him too delirious to process the fact that now both of his parents were dead. He tried to calm himself and find sleep, hoping only to ease himself a little more before meeting death on his own in the drafty wing of the Chicago Hospital.

The flu had come quickly to Chicago. Rumblings had been heard as far east as Boston in April, and by August, the entire country lived in fear due to the carts filled with bodies lining the streets. Edward's father had died with the first string of deaths in July; he and his mother had fallen sick in October. It was now the end of November, and thousands were dying in the hospitals every day. There was no hope for any of them.

His fever had run all the way up to 103 yesterday according to the timid nurse that had taken his temperature. His body was so sore that any pressure on his limbs felt like sheer torture. The fever made it hard to process thoughts or think about anything coherently. Even his skin was starting to turn a strange, blackish blue color in places.

There was no hope for him; he was going to die.

Not that it mattered. Not only were his parents now dead, but his aunts, uncles, and cousins were gone as well. Going home wouldn't even be a welcoming because everyone he knew was currently covered with a sheet. They were lucky if they even had a toe tag tied to them to identify them for their wooden boxes they would be buried in.

He had no idea how long he had been laying there really; his mind knew enough to tell him that it was cold out, so it must be winter by now. It felt like he had been left to burn from fever for months. Not that it mattered how long he had been there; the only way he was leaving was in a cart with the rest of the moaning patients in the beds beside him. He was only seventeen; he had wanted to join the war effort. He wanted to play baseball. He wanted to go to college, buy a home in the country, and maybe someday have a boy of his own.

His heart sped up in his chest when he realized that none of this would happen.

_No…I want to live. I am too young to let this horrid sickness take me…._he thought.

Eventually, the young doctor returned, his cool hands grasping Edward's sweaty ones. It was early morning, not yet dawn and Edward knew that his shift would be ending soon. Edward winced slightly at the feeling of the light pressure. His entire body ached from days of the persistent fever. The doctor kneeled again by the side of his bed and watched him as he lay there, cringing in pain, unable to speak. He leaned forward to talk to him in the faintest of whispers.

"My boy….I want to save you, Edward. I want to keep you from dying," he whispered, softly, pulling away to look at him slightly.

_Yes! Save me….I don't want to die!_ His mind screamed at him, but his swollen mouth and nearly paralyzed body wouldn't obey.

He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. His green eyes met the golden, curious ones of the young doctor, and he managed to nod stiffly.

Carlisle spoke to him again. "It will not be without price, Edward. You will suffer greatly, but you will live on. Is this your wish?"

Edward squeezed his hand in reply, his body beginning to tremble with the will and need to stay alive. The doctor nodded, a pained expression decorating his features. He looked around, making sure they were alone, and draped a white sheet of the deceased over Edward's entire body.

He leaned down again to speak to the boy. "I must get you out of the hospital. I will act as though you are deceased – stay as still as you can mange," he whispered before pushing the wheeled bed out of the long room.

They hadn't gone ten feet when he heard a voice of one of the young nurses that worked in the wing.

"Doctor, I can take him down to the basement if you like," she said, her voice weary.

"No, Evelyn, that is fine. My shift is over and I shall be leaving soon – it is on the way. I leave through the back entrance that leads to Fifth Street, so it's no trouble to go down there," he replied smoothly.

"Yes Doctor," the young girl replied. She glanced at Edward's feet, which were the only things protruding from the white sheet that covered him.

"Who is this one?" she asked sadly.

"Edward Masen. He was seventeen," Carlisle replied, his voice low and full of emotion.

"Oh, the young boy in the corner…I'll miss him, he was always so kind before the fever hit him bad. I wonder what he was like?" she said softly.

Carlisle reached over to gently pat her on the shoulder. "The only solace we can take is by knowing that he will soon be with God," he replied.

Edward heard a sniffling noise, and took some comfort in knowing he was not the only person affected by the horrible outbreak in Chicago.

"Sometimes I don't know if I can handle much more…there's just so many…"

"Evelyn, it is in times like these that our strength is challenged and our true characters are revealed. You are a strong girl, and I am confident that you will make it through this tragedy as a truly great woman," he said firmly.

She nodded, wiping away some of the tears that had fallen down her cheeks and hurried away.

Carlisle pushed the bed down to the basement morgue, where bodies usually were quickly embalmed and given toe-tags to identify them by. Edward winced through his fever and deliriousness at the stench of the large room, which was overflowing with carts full of deceased Chicagoans.

Carlisle shuffled a few papers around, waited until they were alone, and then Edward felt himself being lifted into his strong arms. He opened the back door and bolted into the night.

Edward's mind reeled. The cold air of the Illinois night woke him up a bit, and he shivered in the strange, strong arms of the young doctor as he ran. It felt like he was flying. In only a few minutes, he felt the doctor barely jostle him as he jumped up several flights of stairs as if they were merely steps. He was placed on a hard, sagging mattress and the doctor pulled the sheet off of him quickly.

Edward tried to open his eyes, but all he could see was a blur flashing around the room, moving things. He believed he was in an apartment, but couldn't be sure for it was so cold that it almost felt like he was outside.

After a few moments, the doctor pulled the metal bed frame easily to one side of the room, quickly lighting a fire in the nearby fireplace. Edward coughed, his raw throat aching with every breath. His body shook with tremors as it tried desperately to fight against the virus, but to almost no avail. He moaned and winced as the ache in every corner of his body began to throb; it was like his heart was pounding in his own ears. His tongue swelled, making it harder and harder for him to take his haggard breaths. The virus had exhausted him for almost a month now, and he knew that the end was near.

"Edward….do you still wish to live like I do? I am a creature that is damned to walk the earth at night, but I am indeed living. Do you still wish to live, even if it is a never ending night? "

Edward didn't need to consider it. He was too young to die, he knew this.

He nodded, his body still shaking with the excruciating fever. He coughed violently, blood spattering his tattered nightgown. Carlisle dampened a cloth and wiped his face and mouth carefully. Edward managed to open his eyes enough to see the doctor as he stared at his hands.

"P-please…" Edward moaned his voice raspy and dry.

Carlisle seemed to be in a battle of wills with him as he struggled on the side of Edward's bed. For a moment, Edward panicked. Had the doctor not promised to save him? To spare his life? Why was he waiting?

He leaned forward in Edward's ear, his breath sweet. "Forgive me, my son," he said quietly, before leaning down and cutting his teeth into Edward's neck. He struggled for a few moments before violently pushing the bed away from himself. Edward cried out as his teeth ripped away from the tender flesh of neck.

However, the wound on his neck was soon the least of his worries. His eyes bulged open as it started.

Hot, searing, burning, _fire._

_No….no…something isn't right…I was supposed to be saved, not devoured by this monster! _He panicked.

He knew something wasn't right. The flames licked at the insides of his body as the flames moved from his neck throughout the rest of his body. He faintly heard the doctor gasping for breath in the corner, his body frozen with shock.

Part of Edward's mind feared that the doctor would return and continue to maul him with his razor sharp teeth, but the flames that had taken over his weak body were at the front of his mind.

For hours the burning sensation moved throughout his veins, muscles, and every bone, cracking and mauling it with what Edward was sure were the very fires of hell.

_I didn't ask for this…I didn't' want him to do this to me…If I would have known I would have chosen to stay in the hospital and die…_

His mind raced and fumbled to make coherent thoughts as he tried to distract himself from the mind-numbing pain that raced through his limbs.

_I should have just stayed at the hospital and died, _he repeated in his thoughts again.

Hours passed. He tried to beg the doctor several times to just kill him, but the flames of hell that were burning him seemed to be fueled even more by his attempt to speak.

The young doctor - Carlisle - stayed by his side, visibly debating whether or not he should leave or stay. Edward faintly wondered what was happening to him – the doctor had promised that he would live, but that certainly didn't seem plausible now as he burned on the sagging mattress. He also wondered why the doctor never seemed to eat, drink, or sleep as the hours and days wore on.

Just when he thought he had agreed with the doctor on a life of everlasting pain and torture, he sucked in a breath of air. The pain was fading in his fingers and toes. He still dared not move them; he was terribly afraid that the fire would come back, licking and burning every inch of his surely charred veins.

He drifted, barely alive on a sea of pain and fire that never seemed to end. He felt like he was trapped and downing, being burned alive when he was already on the brink of death. Hanging by his fingertips, he gasped and wept while his throbbing heart was engulfed by the venomous flames. It pounded in his chest as the hours ticked by; Edward would have welcomed death with open arms at this point. Nothing seemed to offer any relief, even as the doctor spoke in soothing tones in his hear.

"It's almost over now, Edward. Please hang on….it won't be longer now," he said to him softly.

Edward tossed his head and tried to open his eyes, hoping that the cool air of the small room would help his singed irises find some relief as the flames engulfed even them as well. He let a grunt of frustration leave his lips as his heart thrummed wildly in his chest, trying to stop the flames from taking it. He winced and fought the urge to cry out as the evil heat seemed to penetrate his skull and engulf his brain with its tentacles of flame. His head rolled from side to side as it charred everything in its wake; was nothing going to be left unsigned and un-scorched?

Suddenly, he was distracted by a voice, but it was a different kind of voice than he had heard before. It had the distinct mental flavor of the calm, young doctor, but it didn't sound like he was speaking out loud. It floated into his mind and echoed there, wisps of blurriness coating it, but it was still clear enough for Edward to hear.

_I cannot bear to watch the boy suffer any longer…what have I done? I don't remember the change taking this long. How long was I out? Two days? Three? It's almost been three days…I can't take this much longer. The venom has already spread, there's no way to even put the boy out of his misery now….._

The mental voice floated through Edward's singed mind, raking over the coals that now felt like they dwelled there. Surely his skin was black as ash by now.

And what did the doctor mean by the venom? Is that what was searing through his body? It made sense…the burning felt like it would never cease, but the doctor seemed to think it would be over soon.

He concentrated, trying to decide if his mind was playing tricks on him as he felt his arms and legs slowly cool down and the fires in them go out. He still remained perfectly still, fearing that any large movement of joy would send the flames roaring back. His body now felt like a fire that had died down, but was still hot enough to burst into flames again should it be prodded with a poker and given new air.

_His skin is changing…_the voice came back. Edward strained his ears as he tried to listen. His mind could clearly tell him that there was no one speaking in the room. It almost felt like his _mind_ was speaking to him. Yet, as confusing as it was to lie there in pain and hear voices inside his own mind, he was almost certain that the voice he was hearing was that of Dr. Cullen.

As he laid there and fought with his better sense, he was temporarily distracted enough to not realize it at first when the pain began to fade even further into his body, releasing his legs, arms, and head. Had the fire not raged so hot inside his stomach and chest, he would have noticed the soothing, cool feeling that his calmed body parts now had.

_His skin is evening out…no more imperfections. He had a lot of scars on his elbows and knees from cuts and scrapes…he must have been active as a child. At least he isn't suffering as much now…it won't be long until the transformation is complete. God, give him strength to endure this…._

The mental voice had returned. Now Edward was positive that it was the voice of Dr. Cullen. But why could he hear it? He was utterly confused as he listened to his own heart pound and race in his ears. He winced as it took on a whole new rhythm while it beat frantically; he was almost sure it would explode. _Well, if it did explode, at least it would all be over,_ he thought.

The faster his heart beat, the easier it was for one part of his mind to ponder the strangeness of his new ability while the other processed the racing rhythm of his chest.

_Please Edward, stay calm. It's almost over….I can't bear this much longer…never again will I be so selfish as to change another human being into a monster…_

Edward was certain now that he was hearing Carlisle speak, but he wasn't sure how. The words from the doctor were spoken in a long, strange stream of conscious thought that he didn't quite understand. He didn't have time to think about much of anything much longer though, for his heart began to skip and falter as something changed.

Suddenly, it felt like all the pain he had felt for the last few endless days of his life was being sucked up like the eye of a tornado. The flames and embers began to move from every part of his body and began to center in his heart as if it was pieces of metal to a large magnet. He cried out and grunted in agony as his heart began to thump wildly as if to combat all of the flames that now dwelled there.

Nothing he had experienced yet could come close to this torture.

He felt the doctor's cool hands rest on his arms gently as Edward began to thrash from the wild pain searing through his charred heart. The sound of it desperately fighting for its life seemed to echo in his ears louder than anything he had ever heard. If he wasn't so blinded with pain he would have feared of going deaf from the frantic pounding of his heart.

Then, he felt Carlisle press his arms down as if they were beams of steal to hold him in place to keep him from thrashing to the ground. His chest rose and sunk wildly as his heart throbbed.

_Thump. Thump. ThumpThumpThump…_

_  
_The speed increased and Edward braced himself as he prepared for the organ to burst in his chest in an explosion of fire and agony. But no explosion came.

His heart thumped in his chest two more times, and then stopped. And all at once, the fire was out. It was over.

He sucked in a violent breath as soon as he realized it was over. He lay there, perfectly still, unsure if he should move or breathe. Frowning, he realized all at once that he no longer needed to take another breath or exhale. Instead, he let the breath of air out in a hiss.

_It worked…he's alive…I hope he's not in pain anymore…oh God please let the boy be okay…._

There it was again. The voice. Edward's eyes flew open and he instantly went rigid as his nose instinctively searched for danger. He sat up jerkily, his senses in overload.

_He seems panicked…I hope he isn't scared…it's so strange to wake up for the first time like this…._

"Edward?"

Edward flew up from the bed, jumped, and landed against the wall of the large room, braced for an attack. A snarl left his lips before he had even landed on his feet. His wide eyes searched the room for a predator, but all he saw were the strange golden eyes of the calm doctor from the hospital.

"Edward?" he repeated, holding up his hands. The doctor moved slowly towards him, as if he was attempting to corner a wild dog.

Edward quickly surveyed the room again; he was in an upstairs, one room apartment. The bed he had burned on for days was pulled away from the wall and set in front of the fireplace; a small kitchen area was to the left of that, and on the other side of the bed was a worn leather armchair. The rest of the one room apartment was meagerly decorated; the doctor's belongs were quite sparse. However, Edward was not so much concerned with this.

He backed against the wall, his senses going wild as he continued to growl and hiss. This was not normal. Why was he making these strange noises and why did his body feel so strange and foreign?

_He looks terrified…I should say something…don't want to scare…he looks so wild…I hope I haven't created a real monster…how do I even begin to explain…._

"Edward, you are safe here," the doctor said quietly. He continued to hold up his hands as the voice still floated through Edward's head.

Edward's mind was reeling. Between the strange voice in his head, the strange, new scent of the man in front of him, and his changed body, it felt like he should have passed out from mental exhaustion. But instead, each topic felt like it was being separated into files and neatly tucked away into his brain where it was organized for him to view. It was an odd sensation to contemplate several things at once.

He gripped something behind him as he struggled to make sense of everything. A loud ripping sound broke the silence in the room, shocking him completely. Edward jumped to the side, looking down at the piece of wood in his hand. His eyes flashed back to where he had been standing.

He had torn the windowsill clear off of the window.

"What have you done to me?" he growled, his eyes growing even wider as he dropped the piece of wood to the floor. He looked back up at the doctor, who continued to move even closer to him. Edward hissed again and before he could even think to move, found himself on the opposite side of the room.

He exhaled sharply in surprise. How had he moved so quickly?

_I've terrified him…oh dear…maybe I shouldn't have tried to walk over to him so soon…he doesn't understand…maybe I should explain to him what…._

Edward's eyes widened in terror as he slammed himself as far into the corner of the large room as he could. The doctor gave him a questioning look before Edward grabbed two fistfuls of his own copper hair in his head and bent over in shock.

"Edward?" The doctor repeated, attempting to move closer.

Edward straightened up and panted, still in a state of confusion. "Why can I hear you?" he asked frantically.

The young doctor looked at him strangely, tilting his head to the side. "Edward, you're in my apartment. You were in the hospital dying of influenza and I decided to take you here to-"

"I know where I am! Why can I hear you?!" Edward repeated, more hysterical.

Dr. Cullen looked at him strangely again, his thoughts matching his facial features. _What does he mean? He must still be disoriented…I wish I could help him understand…if he would calm down…I would help him….he looks so scared…_

"Edward, I am Carlisle Cullen, the doctor that helped you in the hospital…I mean you no harm," he said calmly.

Edward doubled over at the waist, grabbing his hair again. He gasped for breath, trying to remember to breathe in and out as he stood there panicking. Ignoring the doctor's spoken words, he instead grew more frantic to understand the mental banter of the blonde man before him.

"No, I'm not disoriented, I want to know why I can hear what you're thinking!" he spat, his voice raising.

Dr. Cullen's strange golden eyes widened in fear as he processed what the young man was telling him. "You…you…you can hear...me?" the doctor stuttered, his jaw dropping open slightly.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, nodding. "Yes, I can hear you. I didn't know what that was when I…what…what am I? What have you done to me?" he asked quickly, his hand returning to his side.

The doctor's eyes dropped to the floor, almost in shame. He looked at the fire, his lips pressing into a thin line as he ran a hand through his corn silk colored hair.

"Tell me!" Edward roared, still shocked by the sound of his voice. Even irate and screaming, it sounded smooth and debonair, almost older.

The doctor opened his mouth to speak, and instead let his mind do the work for him.

_If you can forgive me…I am sorry…_

"I don't care if you're sorry! Answer my question!"

"Edward, I stole you away from the hospital to keep you alive. I have changed you into what I am…a vampire."

Edward's eyes widened as Carlisle's mind showed him a picture in his mind of his dying mother, rasping for breath and begging the doctor to help her son.

"How did she know? How did my mother know what you were?" he asked suddenly, stepping out of the corner where he had been standing.

Carlisle gave him another look of amazement as Edward continued to read his thoughts and question them out loud.

"She knew you were a…a…vampire?" he asked in amazement.

Carlisle gave him a pained look, and then nodded his head. "Yes, she knew something about me was different. She was a very perceptive woman."

He watched as Edward processed everything, growing more familiar with his new mind.

"You mean...I…you changed me…I'm…a vampire…" he finally spat incredulously. He held out his hands and looked at them in amazement. The scars and scrapes from years of an active, sports filled childhood were completely gone. The freckles he got from spending hours in the sun playing baseball had faded. Every blemish he had ever had were now completely replaced by smooth, stony white skin.

His eyes rose to meet Carlisle's, and he nodded somberly. He looked up suddenly, holding up his pale hands.

_He must be frightened…I must tell him that I don't want to hurt him or anyone else…he is probably thinking the worst of me, and of our kind…I must tell him…_

"I don't mean you any harm, Edward," he said quickly, matching the topic of his thoughts out loud. "I'm at least able to tell you that we are not like the vampires portrayed in stories," he added.

Edward met his pleading eyes as the doctor spoke. Slowly, he relaxed his stance and tried to calm himself slightly as the doctor continued to speak.

"I do not kill humans, and I can go out during the day…I don't sleep in a coffin, or any other silly thing that is part of vampire folklore," he admitted somewhat sheepishly. "I try to live as much like a human as possible, and I have gone unnoticed for a very long time."

Edward felt an uneasy feeling come over to him as he looked down at his ivory fists that hung at his sides. He was remembering the fuzzy memory of the doctor whispering something about eternal life to him before the painful bite.

His hand flew up to his neck as he traced the crescent scar that the doctor's teeth had left there. His hands then made their way to feel his mouth and his teeth. No fangs, he thought.

"No, no fangs," Carlisle said softly, giving him a sad smile.

Edward braced himself before asking his next question. "How…how long have you gone unnoticed, exactly?" he asked, looking up at the doctor.

_I knew he would want to know…it will scare him…I don't want him to fear….._

"I was born in London in the 1640s," he answered quietly. Edward let a shaky breath go, unsure of how to handle himself. He had been alive for hundreds of years.

_He looks panicked…this will be a hard first year for the boy, I can already tell…what will I do with him? I should never have….I'm so sorry, Edward…_

Edward looked up, his eyes meeting Carlisle's as the doctor struggled with his thoughts. He could tell that the other man was trying to remember that he could read his mind and could hear his every thought.

"Why can I hear you? And what do you mean by first year? What you will do with me – what does that mean?" he asked quickly, stepping closer to the doctor.

"I don't know…Edward, why you can hear me. Certain vampires…we have gifts. I was not gifted, but certain vampires are," he spoke quickly, his words falling out of his mouth with great speed. Edward frowned as he realized he would have never been able to understand him with human ears; advanced hearing must be a new aspect of his new body.

"Certain vampires have gifts that vary...no one is alike that I have ever met. And as for your first year…it is the hardest. Your thirst will be the worst while you are a newborn, or, in your first year, rather."

"Thirst?'

He nodded slowly, his eyes full of sorrow as he admitted the next aspect of vampire life. "Yes…we…we do need blood to survive, Edward. But I do not kill humans! I hunt animals," he said quickly.

"I don't understand…we hunt? Animals?"

Carlisle nodded again. "Your throat must burn terribly…when it becomes dark out, I will take you out to hunt. Draining an animal will sooth the burn, although the discomfort….it is a trait of our kind, I'm afraid," he said.

Edward put a hand to his throat, his mind trying to remember life before this change. All he got were blurry clips and snippets of a life that seemed like it happened ages ago.

"My mother…" he said slowly, his eyes growing unfocused. "She's in the hospital...I must go see her."

Carlisle moved quickly to his side, earning a warning growl from the newborn beside him.

"No, Edward, you cannot…" he trailed off, his thoughts taking over.

_He had no one left, that is why I did this to him. He had nowhere to go, no one to come home to…he is alone…_

The doctor's eyes grew frantic as he realized that he had just let something slip in his mind. Edward reeled back, crouching defensively as he hissed again.

"You lie!" he growled, his eyes widening in anger. Carlisle shrunk away, holding up his hands.

"Edward…son…I know this is a lot to handle, but I would not lie…" he stumbled over his words as they poured from his mouth. "I…I cannot tell you how sorry I am…it was the only way…I never meant to upset you. Your mother begged me, Edward…"

"I don't believe you! She couldn't be dead! She couldn't!"

Carlisle stiffened, trying desperately to reel in his panicked, choppy thoughts.

_He is alone in the world and completely terrified….and I am too. I'm terrified for me, for him, and for what I have done to this boy…Lord please forgive me for torturing this poor soul…._

Edward hissed as Carlisle's panicked thoughts drained through his funnel-like mind – he read and listened to each one before tossing it away with another growl.

"Edward please…you must stay here with me. I will explain more, I promise, but you cannot go outside without my help! You might kill someone!" Carlisle begged, reaching for Edward's arm. He pulled away quickly, his crimson eyes widening.

"I'm no murderer! I'm a seventeen year old man, and I'm going home to my family…this is all just a bad dream…it can't be happening…" Edward mumbled, grabbing his copper hair in frustration. Carlisle winced as they boy's frantic ramblings echoed in the large, upstairs apartment.

"Where am I?" He growled, glancing out the window.

"In my apartment…I live on the outskirts of the city…" Carlisle said slowly, carefully scrutinizing Edward's reaction.

The boy tried to sort through his already fuzzy memories as he paced the room, his speed quickening with every lap. His breaths came in frustrated puffs as he pivoted and turned on the wood, his bare feet making almost no sound.

_What have I done to this boy?_ Carlisle wondered.

Edward's head jerked up, and in a flash he was across the room, his hands locked in an iron grip around Carlisle's throat. He gasped and tried to slide away, but to no avail.

"Edward...you're…hurting me…" he managed to gasp as the boy's grip tightened.

"Then you will understand what I am feeling at this exact moment," Edward hissed, his red eyes narrowing at the doctor. "You did this to me, and you will fix it!" he said.

Carlisle stopped trying to breath, and did his best to pry Edward's strong newborn hands away from his neck enough to speak.

"The change…is…permanent," he gasped, falling back slightly when Edward's eyes widened and his grip slackened enough for him to break free.

"I'm…I'm…a demon…a vampire…for how long?"

Carlisle winced as his mind raced. _Forever._

When Edward heard that one word, he let out a breath of pain that he had been holding. His shoulders slumped and his crimson eyes fell to the floor in defeat. He looked at the doctor slowly backing away, and his mind was made up. He had to see for himself.

No sooner had he thought about jumping through the window was he already there and flying out of it, the cloth drapes fluttering in the wind. Carlisle raced to the window, opening it further to stick his head out.

"Edward!" he yelled loudly, his golden eyes wide as he watched the young boy disappear into the dark streets. And just like that, the newborn vampire he had created was gone.

He raced through the dark streets, testing his speed and newfound senses. The doctor lived in a sparsely populated neighborhood on the edge of town, but that did nothing to pacify the new vampire.

He could feel the cobblestones shift and crack under his feet as he raced through the darkness, his feet churning beneath him. If he wouldn't have been so horrified at the thought of becoming a vampire, he would have been delighted with his newfound speed and enhanced vision. He watched his eyes adjust to every minute detail around him as he ran, his dark red pupils growing wide with amazement.

_Vampire…vampire…I'm a vampire…The doctor saved me, only to turn me into a monster. I'm a vampire….vampire…._

His thoughts were jumbled as he ran, trying to recall some of the blurry memories that he could from where he lived. Part of his mind was busy repeating to itself what it was, while the other half was replaying bits and pieces of what memories he had left. It was incredibly frustrating. Everything looked familiar, but only enough so that he could remember it in general, and nothing important like street names or exact addresses.

Suddenly, he came to a graceful halt as he realized he was now in a busier part of town. Then, he smelled something and his worst fears were realized.

The scene wafted towards him in the darkness, and he began to walk quickly towards whatever was pulling him in. His throat burned in the most agonizing but delicious way as he approached the smell. Then, the sound hit him like a wave crashing onto a rocky beach.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

The smells coming off of them in waves was positively astounding; it was paralyzing as it wafted towards him, and he had to focus.

He could see that there were two men, staggering down the sidewalk, clinking their flasks and laughing merrily as they walked. Looking up at the sky, he guessed it was very late at night, possibly just before dawn, as the streets were still coated in darkness. The men staggered in the dim lights from the street, laughing and talking about some form of nonsense.

But he didn't hear any of it.

All he could hear were their beating, pulsing, throbbing hearts, and most importantly, the crimson liquid he knew their hearts were pumping through them. He had to have it.

His mouth watered with a bitter liquid as he stalked after them, his eyes growing wide as his throat throbbed. He tapped the first man on the shoulder, earning a look of surprise from him.

"Well, bit late for you to be out young boy-" he began to slur, but Edward didn't let him finish the thought. He grabbed the man's head, yanking it to the side with a sickening crunch. His friend sank against the closest building, frozen in terror as his companion slumped in the young boy's arms, his crimson eyes glittering.

Edward took a deep breath as his horrified mind looked on. His thirst ruled him now, and nothing else mattered but quenching it. With a grunt, he sank his teeth into the man's still pulsing neck vein, and then it hit him.

The fluid began to seep down his parched throat, coating it delicately as it came. The relief was exquisite. He closed his eyes and began to suck greedily, wanting nothing more than to taste and feel more of it as it flowed wonderfully to put out the fires that had raged there. Again and again he drank, savoring the feeling of the blood as it gushed down his throat and into his stomach, leaving a cool wake of relief and satisfaction as it traveled.

He couldn't hear the horrified gasps of the man's companion. He couldn't feel the weight of the now dead man that he held in his arms. No, the only thing that mattered now was the crimson liquid that gushed past his tongue.

It had all happened in a matter of seconds. When the first man was drained, he shoved him down onto the pavement, reaching for his whimpering friend. He had been able to drain him even faster this time. Yes, it was coming easier now.

He dropped them both in the nearby alley, no longer caring if they were found. The only thing that mattered was that the fire in his body was out – for now.

Looking around, he realized that a few things around him looked familiar. Instinctively, he raised his nose to the air and began to hunt – this time, for his home.

Dawn was breaking by the time he finally found it. He had scoured the streets, feeding three more times as humans had stumbled in his path, but finally, he stood on his front porch. Shame burned though him as he thought about the humans he had effortlessly killed, only further solidifying that what the doctor said was true: he was indeed very dangerous.

He easily broke the brass handle on the door, covering his mouth as the smell of more mouthwatering human blood wafted towards him. He was already so full of shame and regret that he didn't want to take a chance of killing again. Pausing slightly, the door swung open and he was hit with the smell of stagnant air.

The Spanish Flu that had begun wracking the city of Chicago earlier that year had left a nearly paralyzed ghost town in its wake. The entire time he had been sick, he could hear the nurses speaking in hushed voices about the epidemic. He now understood their fear as he looked at their empty house. His mother, father, house maid, even the neighbors…were gone. He winced slightly as he thought about how their bodies were likely piled in one of the wooden carts that he had heard the nurses speak of. There were so many people that had died that the numbers were too staggering to even comprehend.

"Hello?" he called out, although his heightened senses told him that he was clearly alone. No human had been there for months; the air was too old, too still. He walked inside, slamming the door shut behind him. The crystals hanging from the lamps in the hallway tinkled and chimed as the vibration from the slamming door hit them. He squinted, realizing that no lights were on.

_I can see clear as day,_ he thought to himself. He inhaled a breath of air, his throat only burning slightly. No, no humans had been here in a very long time. He began to get a sick feeling in his stomach as he slowly crept though the empty house. Furniture still sat where it belonged, all of it covered in thin white sheets. Lamps were unlit, tables covered in dust, pictures all facing downwards so that they couldn't be seen. Several boxes and bags lined the hallway, untouched and unmoved.

His human memories were dim, and growing even more so by the second, he realized.

_But I do know this place…I have been here before, _He thought.

Looking around, he found a staircase and darted up it. When at the top, he turned his head left and right, trying to remember. He knew this was his home, but it felt like it had been hundreds of years since he had been there. Frowning again, he made his way down the hall before sniffing the air.

_Yes, this is it,_ his mind told him. He paused at the door, bracing himself. Opening it with a slight creak, he was hit with a wave of nostalgia as his new eyes lay upon his human bedroom. Edward stood there for a moment, completely frozen as his eyes skipped around the room, taking it all in.

His bed, his desk, his closet, his baseball glove and cap…all were covered in dust and just how he had left them… many months before.

_The doctor didn't lie…my family is dead and my house is abandoned. No one has been here for months…because they're all gone. There is no one to come back to…_

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the familiar stinging sensation of oncoming tears. Raising his granite hand to his face, he wiped at the dry surface, suddenly perplexed that here was no liquid there. He gasped quietly when he realized that his sobs were now tearless. He sank to his knees in the middle of his bedroom, his fists clutching the few articles of clothing that lay discarded on the red carpet.

He wasn't sure how long he had been there; the hazy sun had risen hours before, but Edward hadn't noticed. He sat on his bedroom floor, completely frozen and unmoving, even when he heard footsteps approaching. His nose immediately recognizing both the footsteps and the mental tone of the young doctor.

_I can only hope that the hospital records that they had for him were correct…I think I can smell him near….yes…that is him…oh Edward, you've found your home. But you can never go back again….my dead heart aches for this boy. _

He winced at the seemingly private thoughts of the young doctor as he ran into the house to find him.

"Edward," he breathed, ghosting into the room. He crouched down at his side, his sweet breath blowing on him slightly as he exhaled in relief. "I'm so glad I finally found you."

Edward looked up at him blankly, his red eyes glowing. Carlisle dropped to his knees beside him, his own golden eyes dropping to the floor after seeing what Edward had obviously done.

"I see that you've fed," he said somberly. "What did you do with the bodies?" he asked quietly. Edward growled, flying to his feet.

"I drained five humans this morning and discarded their bodies in the alley like they were nothing more than an alley cat!" he spat in the doctor's face, his fists forming claws.

"I killed them like it was nothing…like a vampire would! Like a monster! I killed them and as much as I hated myself while I was doing it….I liked it!" he roared, walking over to his old desk. With one swipe, he wiped all the contents off of it, the knickknacks falling to the floor with a loud crash. He picked up his baseball bat and effortlessly swung it as the large beveled mirror above his dresser with rage. The bat connected with the mirror shards of glass flying everywhere. Each piece that flew by Edward's face allowed his perfect eyes to catch a reflection of his new body, face, and eyes, a bleak reminder of what he had become. His rage only multiplied as he made the bat connect with the wall, again and again.

A hole now gaped through the wall, but he didn't even notice as he attacked the door next. Again and again he pummeled the wooden bat against his wooden door, the shards flying as he swung.

"I'm a monster, do you hear me?" He swung again, this time at the door frame. "A MONSTER!"

With a sickening crash, the door fell to the ground as its frame gave way and both pieces of large wood fell to the floor outside with a loud clatter of wooden shards and dust.

He gripped the bat in his hands, panting with fury at the doctor. The bat groaned and quickly disintegrated in his grasp, falling to the floor. Carlisle stood calmly in the middle of the room, his eyes still glued to the floor.

_What have I done to this poor boy? I'm relieved that I have finally found him, but this is not the way I wanted it to be…Lord, I only wanted a companion in this lonely life, and I fear that I have committed a sin by trying to give Edward a second chance…please forgive me…._

Edward snorted out loud at hearing Carlisle's private thoughts.

"You pray to God for help as if it will actually happen," he sneered, tossing the wooden shards of the bat out of his hands. He grabbed another fistful of his bronze hair, yanking it in frustration.

He sat down on the bed, his head in his hands, breathing heavily in exasperation and rage.

"I am a deeply religious man, Edward," he replied softly.

_God has a plan for all of us…I firmly believe he takes care of me and everyone else who needs it. Please let me help you?_

Edward looked up at the doctor as he silently pleaded with him. He glanced around his now destroyed room, laughing sadistically at what remained. There was nothing for him there, he knew that. He also knew that he did not want to live alone, in this abandoned, dilapidated house forever as a damned creature. Looking up, he saw the concerned, young doctor's eyes on him.

He stood, walking to the corner where the contents of his desk lay in a disheveled pile.

He sorted through the rubble for a few moments, sifting through the memories. Grabbing a small satchel, he filled it with a few mementos that he wished to keep. Baseball cards, his glove and cap, a few pictures from his walls, his favorite pen. Carlisle understood what he was doing, and moved to help.

_We can make it through this life together, Edward. It won't always be this way, I can promise you that. I live a lonely but satisfying life. I have a very fulfilling career that I love, and someday you can, too,_ Carlisle replied. Edward snorted as he continued to collect items from his room.

"You live a satisfying life as a vampire?" he sneered, throwing a pocket watch into the bag he held.

Carlisle nodded. "I do….I can't have close friends or stay in one place too long-"

"Why?"

Carlisle's eyes fell. "We don't' age, Edward. You will look like your seventeen-year-old self for the rest of eternity," he said softly.

Edward dropped his eyes to look at himself in the shards of glass that now covered the floor. He caught the reflection of his eyes and winced.

_They change with a diet of animal blood…it will take a few months, but they will look somewhat normal again,_ the doctor reassured him.

"You drink from animals?" Edward asked, walking down the hallway. Carlisle nodded, carefully stepping over the broken door and door frame as he followed the young boy. Edward opened another door, pausing for a moment to look around.

"Yes, I do... I hunt often…it helps me resist humans at work. I can be around human blood after years and years of practice."

Edward winced as he paced around his parents' old room. "You never….slip? You never kill humans anymore?"

Carlisle shook his head, reaching out to softly finger the lace curtains that hung in the windows of the master bedroom. "I have never tasted human blood, Edward," he said. Edward watched in Carlisle's mind as years of torture and abstaining flashed through his thoughts in a jumble of pain and torture. He shook his head, moving to his mother's vanity.

"That looks awful," he muttered, picking up her silver brush set and mirror. He packed them carefully away, moving to her jewelry chest. He felt himself choke up as he laid his eyes on the sparkly trinkets his father had given his mother over the years; each one has a past and a story. His eyes pricked as tears threatened once again.

Edward looked through the jewelry chest, carefully packing up the most important pieces he could find: her diamond earrings, several colored stone necklaces, her set of pearls, her rose gold diamond watch, her diamond tennis bracelet…his mother had quite the collection as a lawyer's wife.

He paused, his eyes scouring over the chest, his hands flying through it in search.

"Where…where is it?" he asked himself, turning things over and moving jewels to the side to search for it.

_Edward._

Carlisle silently called to him, Edward whipping his head up. The doctor held two rings in his pale hand, which was now extended towards Edward. His father's gold wedding band and his mother's delicate, sparkly engagement ring glittered at him. Edward looked questioningly at the doctor before striding over to him.

_I'm sorry, Edward. I feared that once their bodies left the hospital that…that they might be stolen. I know that you probably wanted them to be buried with your parents, but I couldn't take that risk. I was too afraid that looters would take them from their bodies, and I wanted you to have them instead. I couldn't bear to leave them, and I hope that someday you will want them. I'm sorry, son._

Edward sucked in an emotional breath as he slowly took the two rings from the doctor's grasp, the rings clinking softly as he placed them in a box.

Looking around the room, his mind was made up. No, he certainly did not want to come back here ever again. He would stay with the young doctor.

"You really don't kill humans?" he asked, the faces of those he had murdered flashing through his mind. It made his mouth water just to think about, he realized with a cringe.

"No, Edward, I do not. I never have, and I never will."

"Will you teach me?" he asked softly, looking at the patterned rug that was beneath his feet.

"How to not kill? Of course," Carlisle replied, a smile threatening to appear on his lips. "It will be hard, Edward, but worth it. We can use our abilities and senses to do good. We don't' have to live as monsters, son. You can be good again, I promise."

Edward looked at him as the doctor thought.

_He is such a strong boy…I know he can do this. I can see determination in his eyes. It will be hard, but it will be worth it. I can see great things happening for him in this life. I know he will use his gift for good, somehow. Edward can do anything…I'm sure of it. I saw that hope in his determined eyes back in the hospital. There was a reason that I saved this child._

Edward raised his eyes to meet Carlisle's, his ruby eyes glittering in the early morning light that danced across his parent's bedroom.

"You…you have hope for me?" he asked softly. Carlisle stared back at him, his head nodding quickly.

"Yes, Edward. I do. I have hope for you, for me, and for the future. I always have."

Edward thought about his strong answer, and how much he wanted to believe him. He didn't want to walk this earth alone, as a terrible monster, killing at will.

"Then I will go with you. I will not kill anymore….I want to live, Carlisle, really live. If this is how I must do it, then…" He trailed off with a shrug, giving the room one last look.

Carlisle took the heavy satchel full of memories from him, giving him an approving nod.

"You can do this Edward, I know you can. We will do this together, and you won't be alone anymore. I have hope," Carlisle repeated, turning to walk out of the bedroom. Edward heard him go downstairs and pause in the foyer, waiting for him to join him.

He looked around the room one last time before following Carlisle down the steps and out the front door.

"Hold your breath until we get home," Carlisle instructed softly, but sternly. Edward nodded as they stepped outside into the grey daylight, and into their new life. As they walked along the sparse streets towards Carlisle's apartment, Edward wincing and shaking with thirst, he was only calmed by one thought.

He had been given a second chance, and he was going to do whatever he could to make it count.

Well what did you think? I really tried my best to capture how I thought Edward would behave when he woke up and learned that his life that he loved was gone, along with everyone in it. Thoughts?

As soon as I get some feedback I will post Alice! Remember, I am going in order of dates in which they were changed.

Also, once the story is complete, my beta, Rain-It-Shall (who is awesome, btw ) suggestion adding onto the stories that people like the most. So if you like a certain character and would like to see more of their first days/weeks/years, be sure to let me know! This is a very fun story to write, and I would love to continue it!

REVIEW!


	4. Alice : 1920

**BIG NEWS!**

**'Alice' has been submitted (by me) to the 'What About Alice' Contest! **

**Title: Immortal**

**pen name: cakes4547 **

**Pairing: Just Alice : )**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer:All recognizable character's belong to Stephenie Meyer. Not mine.**

**Summary: Long before she was Edward's sister, a Cullen, or Bella's best friend, Alice woke up in the woods alone in Mississippi in 1920. This is her beginning. ** **V**

**OTE HERE on JULY 10, 2010!**

**www .fanfiction-challenges. blogspot. Com**

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I give you Alice! She has been the most fun to write so far, but I wanted to add in an author's note just in case, just to explain my writing style on this one.

First, whoever changed Alice is a mystery. The first part of the story is supposed to be just that – a mystery. Second, when Alice awakens, she is confused, new, and also somewhat feral because she just doesn't know any better. I believe that she evolves eventually into the Alice that we all have grown to love by studying the people that she finds so fascinating.

Imagine the first time she sees people as something other than food; remember, Alice doesn't remember being human. I believe she would have some human traits and remember some things subconsciously, so that it how I have written her. I just couldn't picture the same Alice waking up in the woods as a vampire – I think she would be confused for awhile and maybe do some things we wouldn't like. Please bear with her; she is a fast learner; )

Enjoy!

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**Alice - **1920

He pressed his cool lips to her cheek before setting her somewhat hastily down onto the ground. His speed worked to his advantage, and he patted her softly after pulling the syringe from her arm.

"Mary Alice…forgive me," he murmured, sweeping her sloppily cut black hair from her eyes. He wouldn't be able to give her the bite on her neck; the scar would be easily seen due to the short haircut that the asylum had hastily given her. With a shaky sigh, he lowered his mouth to her fragile wrist, biting into her soft skin. She inhaled sharply, but the morphine had already done its job – she was numb.

He looked around; he knew he was being followed by her stalker. Her blood had sung to the lost looking young man with the empty eyes and long blonde hair. He had recognized that right away.

James had gotten the job at the asylum so that he could have a food source that was readily available to him; patients whose disappearances wouldn't raise many questions. They were a hindrance to their families anyway, tucked into the state-funded Mississippi asylum. None of his victims would ever be missed. When he discovered that little Mary Alice was his singer, he had tortured her and stalked her for weeks. He had to admit, James had patience with his prey and the games he played with them.

"Where are you…g-going?" she asked, the morphine already finding its way into her veins. He smiled down at her sadly, patting her cheek as she slipped out of reality and into the deep unconsciousness that would change her forever.

"Sleep, little Mary Alice, sleep now…when you awake you will be free of all of this. They cannot hurt you any longer. No one will," he said gently to her. Her pretty hazel eyes blinked at him a few times before her eyes rolled back into her head, the venom starting to spread and take effect. He paused for a moment to look down at the frail little girl as she started to react to his poison.

Memories of watching the innocent, gifted Mary Alice suffer in the asylum flashed before his red eyes. For three years he had watched her suffer though shock treatments, getting dunked in ice water, jabbed with hot pokers, given pills that made her sleepy, shots that made her want to jump out of her skin. When James had begun to hunt her, he had to step in. And now here they were.

The little girl did not deserve to suffer anymore. He knew that Mary Alice would get her revenge in her new life; however it may come to pass.

He pulled her already limp body off to the side of the dirt road, behind the line of oak trees than ran along beside it. She was out of view from the road, and somewhat sheltered from the elements, but this was all he could do. Now it was his turn to run.

"Good-bye, Mary Alice," he whispered, before dashing off into the darkness.

x-X-x-X-x

Something grunted. Then growled. It tugged relentlessly at her shabby hospital gown as it tried unsuccessfully to drag her heavy little body from the ditch where she now lay.

She groaned as the fur tickled her arm slightly before she grasped its tail and tossed it away with a satisfied "umph!"

The ball of fur hit a tree twenty feet away and hit the ground with sickening crunch.

She opened her eyes.

She sat up, looking from side to side. The morning sunlight was just starting to beam through the trees, and a lazy breeze blew through the leaves, rustling them slightly. She frowned, her perfect eyebrows slanting downward as she looked around.

_Where am I? Wait...who am I?_

She jumped up, the water that had gathered in the muddy ditch where she sat splashing slightly as she stood. Her head whipped from side to side several times at lightning speed, her nose sniffing the air.

_Was there danger near?_ Her senses told her no. But really…_who was she? And why did she just wake up in a ditch?_

With a light shrug, she stepped out onto the dirt road, where puffs of morning mist were still rising. She began to put one foot in front of the other, walking slowly. Her torn nightgown ruffled in the breeze, causing her to stop suddenly and look down. The dingy white fabric had little faded flowers all over it, and it was stained with mud and dirt from the ditch. She examined the faded fabric that was torn in several places, and a piece of plastic around her wrist caught her eye.

She frowned again at the tattered bracelet, the words and letters all jumbling together.

She tried to read it.

"M-m…M-a-rii…Mariii…Ma-rey…Mar-y…Mary…" she stuttered, frowning until the words made sense. She felt like she should be able to read them.

"Mary…A...Al-l-l…la-ce….Al-lace…A-lace…Alice. Mary Alice," she finally spit out, frowning at the tag.

_I must be Mary Alice….either that or I have her bracelet! _She thought with a tinkling giggle. She jumped slightly at the sound of her laugh as it echoed down the lane where she stood. Looking up, she saw that the dirt road was lined with old oak trees and it seemed to go on forever.

"Mary Alice…I'm Mary Alice!" she said happily. All of a sudden, she frowned. She wasn't so sure about the 'Mary' part.

_Not sure why…I think I'll just be Alice. Alice? Alice. Alice! _ She thought gleefully to herself.

She looked at the slim, pale fingers that grasped the bracelet, quickly dropping it to hold her perfect, tiny hand in front of her face to look at.

"Oooh!" she cooed, looking at the pretty, pink fingernails and their white tips.

A bush rustled behind her, and she whipped around, landing lithely on her feet, her eyes wild.

_Danger! What is it? Must get away…now! _Her internal voice yelped. She dashed away, picking up speed rapidly. The thought of something stalking her quickly fell away as she blurred down the dirt lane, faster and faster.

"Eeee!' she squealed, skipping as she ran. And then, the tree line came faster and faster.

She collided with the old oak tree, and it groaned before settling to the ground with a crash.

"Oh!" she wailed, covering her mouth quickly. The tree branches rustled as she collected herself, standing up in a flash.

_Oops._

That's when things got hazy.

Her mind churned and twisted as pictures appeared before her blank eyes and face. Fuzzy images blurred together - of trees, the dirty lane, and the ditch where she had woken up. The vision was hard to concentrate on and made her feel slightly sick to try to watch.

Suddenly, it was over. She straightened up, looking back over her shoulder from where she had come from. The empty dirt lane stared back at her as lifelessly as before. Taking a few shaky steps forward, she began to walk again, her body tensed and ready for it to happen again.

And it did.

The pictures continued to come, darting in front of her eyes and making her freeze in her footsteps, leaving her slightly shaken each time. This continued for several minutes; each time they got longer and clearer, although they weren't' showing her anything particularly interesting.

Then, it happened.

Her eyes glazed over slightly, her head coking to the side as the vision overtook her senses.

_A short, dark haired woman cowered behind the two taller men as the three of them walked out of the lavish hotel. Once outside, the darker haired male turned to the other one and handed him a wallet. _

"_You can have what's left…it should help you wherever you go," he said softly, his red eyes sad. Her vision shifted to show the man he was talking to._

_The other man was tall, lean, and beautiful. His skin was decorated with crescent shaped scars, all slightly raised in the hazy afternoon light. His eyes were red and sad, full of shame and regret, and his blonde hair hung over them as if to hide them from everyone around him._

"_Are you sure you don't want to feed one last time before we leave you?" the small woman asked. Her crimson eyes matched theirs, although the darker haired pair had significantly fewer scars then the blonde, wavy haired man did. _

"_No…I can't do it anymore, Charlotte. I can't bear to…" he trailed off, his sad eyes falling to the ground as he tucked the obviously stolen wallet into his coat pocket._

"_You're sure you'll be okay?" the other man asked him, putting his hand on his shoulder. _

_The blonde man nodded. "Yeah, Peter…I'll be okay. I just...needed to get away from there, experience something else. I couldn't live…with her anymore."_

_The man that was Peter nodded. "I can't say that I blame you. So you think you'll travel for awhile?"_

_He nodded. "Yes…I don't want to feed anymore…at least not like that. I don't know if I could handle it again. I want to just wander around, get a taste of the world like I wanted to before…before she found me."_

_Peter nodded again. "I understand. Well you know where we'll be. You're always welcome to join us. You saved our lives; we owe you, my friend."_

_He shook his head in disagreement. "No, you don't. I was happy to help. I'm only sorry you had to live so long like that." _

"_So we'll meet again?" Charlotte asked him hopefully. The blonde mad nodded, a pained smile on his lips._

_"I hope so, Charlotte," he replied. "I hope so…" and with that, he turned around and walked away, the dark haired couple turning to look at each other worriedly. He was gone._

She sucked in a quick breath as her body slackened, her true sight coming back.

_What on earth? What did those pictures mean? _

She looked around, whipping her head from side to side in a blur, looking for where this longer, clearer set of pictures had come from. Who was the beautiful blonde man with the sad eyes she had seen? Where was he going? Who was 'she'? It was obviously someone important; he seemed to be pained when he spoke about her.

She looked around, still not sure what she had seen, although she wasn't really scared by it…just bothered. Something about the moving pictures she had just seen in her mind had been strange but familiar. Pausing, she pressed her lips together and tried to concentrate.

Now that she thought about it, she wasn't quite sure she could remember anything before waking up in that ditch up the lane with an animal gnawing on her. Retracing her steps, she returned in a blur back to where she had woken up. No, there we no clues there. Looking around, she huffed in frustration. There were no clues about her _anywhere._

Then, it hit her. What she had just seen when she returned to the ditch had been something that the pictures had shown her! She grinned as her sharp mind put it together. The images she had seen were things that were going to happen!

Her body stiffened again suddenly, more pictures entering her mind, more vividly than ever before_. A farmhouse sat in the distance of this vision, an enticing aroma coming from inside, cows grazing in the pasture nearby, a large barn, and people talking…._

_People!_ Her mind screamed at her as she regained control of her body. _And what was that smell? It was delicious and mouthwatering…_

She looked down at her stomach, rubbing it slowly. Was she hungry? She wasn't sure. She could remember food, and eating. No….

Licking her parched pink lips, her hand suddenly went to her throat. It _burned. _It burned _awfully. _

Looking around, she saw no trace of the farmhouse, the cows, or the people with food.

"Humph!" she growled, stomping her bare foot in frustration.

She stood there for several minutes, trying to decide which direction start running in. A beam of sunlight broke through the clouds, shining on her skin for the first time.

She jumped into a crouching position as the rainbow beams reflecting off the trees and leaves around her frightened her. Wide eyed, she looked down at her sparkling skin and realized that it was _her_ that was shining like that. Holding her arm out into the sun, she squealed with glee.

Her arm was shiny. "Pretty," she purred, stroking her granite skin, admiring the way the light bounced off the facets. She began to jump up and down excitedly, her hospital gown rising and falling on her tiny body as she moved.

Before she knew it, she was happily skipping down the dirt land path again, this time in complete awe of her pretty arms and legs as they moved through the sunny day, shining and sparkling whichever way she turned.

It was _wonderful. _

She would have been completely ecstatic if it wasn't for the deep burning in the back of her throat that was growing worse with every passing minute. Continuing her run, she bounded, leapt, and skipped through the dusty countryside, still marveling at her beautiful skin.

Had she always been this way? Was it right to look this way? She wasn't sure that she cared. She was Alice, she could run and leap like a ballerina, and her skin was pretty. That was all that mattered.

Alice was almost so content running and skipping with her new speed that she didn't even realized it when the lane ended and she arrived in a familiar place.

The farmhouse. The barn. The cows. That _smell._

"Food?" she pondered out loud, turning her head. The burn in her throat intensified, and continued to grow the closer she got to the farmhouse. The cows stirred in the pasture as she walked past them, running her fingers along the barbed wire fence. Alice looked at them strangely as they all mooed and galloped away from the fence where she walked.

She wrinkled her nose and stuck out her pink tongue at them in response. "Same to you!" she trilled, ripping up a handful of grass and launching it in their direction.

Putting her hand to her throat, she swallowed several times to help quench the sizzling burn that was getting hotter and hotter the more she walked. Her skin continued to glitter in the sunlight, dancing and reflecting off of anything near her. She smiled lovingly at the rainbows that danced all around in the sunbeams.

The screen door on the farmhouse slammed, and a middle aged woman emerged, carrying a bucket full of seed for the chickens. Her eyes rose up to look at Alice, who was still fifty yards away, meandering up the driveway.

"Oh my stars…" she mumbled, dropping the bucket with a crash. Alice's head whipped up, her ruby eyes instantly turning to black as her throat began to throb with thirst and fire.

"Hal! You'd better get out here!" she called through the screen door. Alice staggered at the scents that were rolling off of the sweaty woman; the alluring aroma permeated the humid air around them. She paused, unsure of what to do next. _Why didn't the woman sparkle in the sun like her? Why did she call for someone else to come out ?_ Something didn't feel right…_was she different? _

Alice licked her lips at the smell that had come off the perspiring little farm woman, and tried to look down at her feet as the thrumming hearts inside the house seemed to call to her. Why did that sound entice her so?

The woman's heart rate had sped up considerably, and the sound was echoing in Alice's little ears. She began to sweat even more at the sight of the creature that couldn't really be a human girl. By the time she turned back around to look at the little girl that sparkled like an alien in her driveway, she gasped suddenly as she appeared not a foot in front of her.

"Oh! Dear, you scared me! How did you get all the way up here so fast?" she asked, her hand falling to rest on her neck in shock. Alice's hungry eyes fell to where her hand lay on her jugular, the artery that pulsed there igniting the burn in her throat even more.

The woman stared at her in shock, trying to decide what her eyes were showing her.

The frail looking, pale little girl stood in front of her, her skin glowing and sparkling like a diamond. Her pupils were dilated and black, slightly wide with surprise. Her hospital gown fluttering in the wind.

"What…what are you?" she stuttered, stepping backwards, nearly tripping on the bottom porch step of the shabby farmhouse.

Before her husband could join her, Alice had sprung, sinking her teeth into the woman's neck instinctively. The crimson liquid gushed from her broken neck, and the limp body sunk into Alice's strong arms as she ravenously sucked.

In a few seconds, the body was empty, and Alice dropped it to the ground with a soft 'thump'.

The man exited the screen door a few seconds later, gasping in horror as his eyes lay upon the body of his wife on the ground.

"What the-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence.

x-X-x-X-x

Alice rifled through the meager selection in the upstairs closet, pausing slightly as she observed the dresses that the woman had hanging up in there. She shoved them aside, one by one as none of the frumpy dresses really appealed to her.

"Well I can't go on like this!" she said to herself, clicking her tongue against her teeth. She ran her tongue along them, feeling how sharp they were. Her head hung in shame as she thought about the act she had completed with those teeth a few minutes before.

Finally, she picked out a pretty blue one with a low waist and ruffled cap sleeves that was shoved in the back of the closet.

_This would do…_she thought to herself with a sigh. The woman's dress didn't really fit her, but it would have to suffice. She had caught a glance of herself in one of the mirrors in the house and had been horrified by her torn, shabby hospital gown and even more repulsed by her choppy, unattractive hair cut. Frankly, it looked like it had been done with a blunt blade by a drunken man in the dark.

Her eyes were also quite horrid. She wasn't sure if they had always been that color, but the crimson that glowed back at her in the mirror had both revolted and scared her at first.

The day had been confusing, to say the least. Waking up to have no idea who you are or w_hat _you were was a completely perplexing thought. However, Alice knew that she could read; she knew how to speak; she knew what things were. She just didn't have any memories or idea where she was or what she was. She knew enough from the look on the human's faces that she was indeed not human herself.

She fastened the too large dress around herself, smoothing it out carefully. Looking down at her bare feet, she selected a pair of black, beat up slip-ons from the floor of the closet. She was shocked to see that they actually fit.

Once back downstairs, she was careful to avoid looking at the dead bodies that were scattered around her. Alice wasn't sure how many she had drained in her wild thirst, and she never wanted to know.

As if he knew he was being thought about, the arm of the teenage dead boy fell off the table where he was slumped, swinging slightly. Alice started, her eyes going wide at the movement. Her eyes prickled and burned, a sob erupting from her mouth as she clamped her hands over it. His eyes were empty and emotionless as he lay draped over the table, dead and motionless.

She had to get out of there.

x-X-x-X-x

Her next mistake came a few short days later. It had only taken her a few tries to figure out that places where people dwelled were not good places for her to be.

The smells had changed as she walked through the forest that day; the burn in her throat increased, igniting like the sun above her. Not that she minded the sun; it made her warm, and most importantly it made her _sparkle!_ She didn't think she would ever grow tired of watching the rainbows dance on her skin.

_Maybe I can go where the people are…I can smell the people. Maybe I won't kill these people. Maybe...but...they smell so good...but I don't want to be alone…hmmm…_

She leaped up into a tree, quickly scaling the side of the bark to perch in the top of the high limbs. Her eyes quickly scanned the horizon and located a small-looking town nestled into the swampy landscape.

_People! _ She thought gleefully. More than anything, she ached to prove to herself that there wouldn't be a repeat of the farmhouse.

Suddenly, the flames in her throat ignited once again, making her eyes bulge and her hands fly to her small throat.

"Ulgh!" she moaned, looking around with a grimace. Her throat and nose had betrayed her before her eyes and ears did. She smelled them, and then she heard them.

Looking to her right, she noticed a dirty road that winded along the buggy bayou above the large tree she was perched in. The old car sputtered and rolled along the unpaved road, the open windows allowing her to hear her prey before she began her stalk towards them.

The voices of the adolescent girls as they drove down the lane did nothing to remind Alice of her promise that she had made to herself about people just hours before.

_Oh…they smell so…so good…my throat hurts…and it felt better last time…just two more..just two more and that would be all. That wouldn't hurt, would it? Then I'll stop. That'll be it. Yes. Two more should do it,_ she thought to herself as she launched herself out of the tree.

Catching up with the car was nothing; it was a chase, but it was fruitless. She was through the car window and at the throat of the first girl before she even had a chance to scream. When she realized what was becoming of her companion, the second girl began to wail and flail her arms around wildly in the small car.

Alice groaned as she drank from the gash she had created in the driver's neck. It just felt s_o good. _

After a few seconds, the car careened into a group of trees, sending all three of them through the glass windshield. Alice, so consumed in her meal, barely noticed being thrown from the vehicle. It sputtered after the crash settled, steam rising from the choking engine. Seconds later, the driver was drained and Alice found the second girl.

She had been thrown from the side window, and she lay on the ground unconscious. Her skin was bloodied from the glass window she had gone through, causing Alice's eyes to glaze over with delight as the blood seeped through her cuts and scrapes.

She paused a moment, looking at the girl as she lay in an awkward position on the ground. Her neck was bent at a strange angle, and she wasn't moving. Alice wasted no time as she pictured her meal cooling, the blood no longer as soothing to the flames in her throat.

She drained this girl even faster.

With a satisfied sigh, she sat back on her heels, licking the last remnants of her meal from her pink lips. The flames went away, but the guilt came roaring back ten times worse than any thirst.

Her large eyes widened even further as she looked at the scene around her. The old Ford car sat broken and dejectedly at the base of a large tree, having knocked over several smaller saplings before finally crashing. The inside of the car's beige leather interior was splattered with blood, both from Alice's sloppily taken meal and the injuries of both of the humans. Their two bodies lay splayed in front of her, growing pale, cold, and lifeless.

She stood slowly, wiping her chin with the torn sleeve of her dress. It would have been impossible for her to blink. Her two victims faces were both turned to her, and she had to look away as she realized that the first girl's eyes were still open in blank horror.

Biting her lip, Alice looked at the ground as a strange, tingling feeling rose up behind her eyes, almost stinging her.

_They…they look kind of like me. Like we're the same age…_

She crouched near the first girl, blinking several times as her small hands hovered above her still, lifeless body. Gasping the soft cotton of the girl's summery dress, Alice bowed her head as a strange sob erupted from her throat. Loneliness had consumed her.

_These girls did nothing wrong to me…they did nothing wrong at all...they…_

…_.they could have been my friends. _

She lowered her head onto the cooling corpse of the teenage girl and let her cries overcome her.

x-X-x-X-x

She ran for a few days, trying to push the thoughts of both the farm family and the two teenage girls out of her mind. Alice didn't know a lot of things, but she did know that she certainly didn't want to do _that_ anymore. The look on the young boy's face was burned into the front of her mind, his lifeless eyes boring into her own crimson ones.

No, that was not good to do what she had just done.

She remembered it anytime she skipped near a town or too close to the main road. Taking mainly country roads and cutting through the swampy woods, she managed to stay away from any more humans. When one did pass on the road, she knew enough to hide up in the trees, her hand clamped over her mouth and nose, just for safety.

She couldn't be sure, but she was fairly certain that she wasn't entirely human. No, her eyes, skin, teeth and diet were certainly not human.

Her method of hiding and holding her breath worked…for several days. Soon, the burning fire in her throat returned and she panicked, losing all control once again. Alice had no control over her targets; she felt more awful every time.

A lone gravedigger, a boy on his bike, a few teenagers swimming in a country pond. She left them littered in her wake, feeling more and more awful every time.

The pain of her mistakes haunted her; no matter how fast she ran or how high she jumped, it was as if they were following her every footstep. Until one day, when she was almost a month old.

She stumbled across a farmer out in the field, using a mule to plow. She had pounced on the sweaty farmer immediately after not having fed for almost an entire week. The farmer's blood had quenched her thirst only a bit.

_Oh no, _she thought with despair, dropping his body to the tilled soil. The mule bucked and brayed desperately to get away from the scary, glittering creature before him.

Alice cocked her head to the side, looking at it carefully. In its panic, the veins in its neck were standing up and throbbing as the animal strained against its binds.

She didn't pause. Pouncing, she ended its life quickly and drained it. When she was finished, she thought for a moment.

_Well…that certainly didn't taste as good…but…it certainly didn't taste bad either. Killing things like this couldn't be as bad as humans, could it?_

She thought a moment longer before having an epiphany. She would only kill animals! Yes! That was the solution. She squealed with glee, clapping her tiny hands in her excitement. Her problem had been solved. Skipping away, she made her way west. Things were going to change.

x-X-x-X-x

Alice had been doing research the past few weeks and had figured a few things out. She was nearly a month and half old, at least by her calculations. How she knew how to count the days was beyond her, and she didn't mind much anyway. Time didn't concern her.

But most importantly, little Alice had figured out that she was no human, and thus had to be careful around them. Holding her breath was key when she wasn't sure if she could control herself fully. Yes, not breathing was the trick.

Alice had also figured out that killing animals to drink from was her way of life now. As unappetizing as the taste had been at first, it did stop the wretched burning in her throat, but that was enough for her.

Animals didn't scream. Animals didn't mind dying quickly. Animals didn't make her feel as bad when she drained them.

So from now on, animals it was.

She had also guessed from the horrified reactions of the humans who saw her in the sunlight before they died that her skin was also not human. Her skin did not sparkle at night or on a cloudy day to her disappointment, but it did help her look like a human. So, Alice had had to wait until a cloudy day presented itself before she allowed herself to practically skip into the city of Baton Rouge.

She had spent most of her time hunting animals in the woods and over-sating herself in preparation for her second favorite hobby: people watching.

Yes, the small country towns on the way to Baton Rouge had given her many opportunities for people watching. She would peek into their windows, hide up in trees, crawl into attics…anything to be around people and watch their day to day lives.

People watching had taught her a lot. She had hidden in a hotel heating duct at one point to watch a cotillion class being taught to the teenagers of the medium-sized town, and that had been the most interesting and pivotal thing to her so far. Now she could _blend._

Granted, she could only speak so much with a meager lungful of air, but she was working on it. Alice would stow away into houses during the day, try on their clothes, read their books and magazines, and listen to their radios. She was no thief by any means; she felt guilty enough that she had to break into their homes. She simply borrowed.

But what she wouldn't have done for _friends._ Several times she had considered talking to girls that looked about her age in town, but her mind had shown her pictures again…pictures of her doing awful things to those girls her age. Alice had to settle for an awkward, tightlipped smile when she did see people out on her nightly walks through town.

Alice had also learned about money. But how would she get money? She certainly w_anted _money, she knew that much. But how would she get it? She couldn't work. She had no skills…well, human skills.

If hunting squirrels, climbing trees, and skipping like a ballerina were skills…then yes, she had some real talent. Yet, none of these delightful new aspects of her life could earn her any money.

It seemed trite, even to her, to yearn for money so badly, but what else did she have to do? There was a void in her life that needed to be filled, despite how happy she was most of the time. She couldn't have friends, she didn't have a home, and she could barely control herself for long periods of time around people. Shouldn't she at least be entitled to a pretty dress?

All of her problems had been solved one night as she decided to hide in the upstairs of a bar to watch a poker game. Alice lolled around on the floor of the attic, peeking through the cracks to watch the games that went on below her. The cards fascinated her, the way they were shuffled and dealt and played with. She could always guess the outcome of the games as she watched through the crack in the attic floor. If she concentrated hard enough, the pictures came easily and showed her the outcomes in her mind. It was easy enough. But that still didn't solve her problem. How was she going to get money?

A fight had broken out over a debt soon after the last game had been won. She watched as the drunken men that stunk like liquor stumbled around, jabbing each other for their owed money. The man that had lost was completely cleaned out from the continuous rounds of poker and had no more money left. They fought and spat and kicked at each other until the poor man suggested that he go to Baton Rouge for another poker game – a winner takes all scenario. He was certain he could win the money back at the casino and then some if they would let him go that night.

This is what caught her attention. _Baton Rouge? What is a casino? There are bigger poker games? You really can win money?_

That was all she needed to hear. Visions of new dresses, new shoes, and a stylish cap danced in her head from the fashion magazines. She let her eyes glaze slightly, feeling the familiar feeling of the pictures coming together to swirl in her head. She saw a lot of outcomes and different plans, but nothing showed her what she wanted to see. With a sigh, she quietly stood and made her way to the window towards the street. Even though she hadn't seen the way to go yet, her mind was made up.

Her plan was set. She would go to Baton Rouge and go to a _casino_.

x-X-x-X-x

By the time Alice skipped into Baton Rouge, the summer heat had grown so unbearably hot that even she began to notice. It didn't really bother her, but she did notice. The swampy atmosphere of the south didn't do much to please her, and she quickly made plans to travel north after her work was done in the casino_._

She had bounded and skipped through the back roads and woods all the way to the big city of Baton Rouge, and she couldn't have been happier. She straightened her dress and tried to smooth down her mussed up hair the best she could before emerging from the woods one evening after hunting. Alice had never drunk so much in her life! But it did help the burning, so she had complied with her conscience.

Alice began to wander the streets of the big city, her tawny eyes wide in amazement of what she was seeing. Tall buildings, automobiles, ladies in fancy dresses, stores, shops…it was almost overwhelming. She stood off to the side of the bustling sidewalk and closed her eyes, concentrating. The throbbing hearts and slightly sweaty bodies were hard to resist, but she was determined to find the casino. After a few seconds, the pictures in her mind swirled together and showed her what she was looking for – the way there. With a grin, she took a deep breath and continued her walk.

Although it was with difficulty, she silently walked the streets with her mouth clamped shut. It was hard to be in the close proximity with all these humans, but it wasn't as much of an issue as she had feared after all of her careful preparations – she had hunted almost twice a day to fully sate herself for this excursion. Her thirst was bothering her, but she was able to shove the need to kill down in her stomach as she walked the busy streets. The promise of a new dress and money was far better than the idea of killing someone.

Suddenly, she exhaled and smiled broadly, easily ignoring the burn in her mouth and throat. Nothing else mattered now. She had found her casino!

It was a tall building on the edge of town, several stories high with a light-up sign in the front. Men and women who were extravagantly dressed wandered in and out, their cigarettes burning and the smell of liquor rolling off of them as the wide double doors opened.

Once inside, she barely noticed the stares she was getting for her choppy haircut and ill-fitting blue dress that she had lifted from the farmer's wife. No, that didn't bother her a bit. She had one thing on her mind and one thing only: poker.

Meandering through the crowded casino, her eyes lit up at all the sights in front of her. Upbeat jazz music blared through the large room, which hung heavy with smoke from the fancy cigars and pipes the men were smoking. The ladies danced in their shiny, beaded flapper dresses and low heeled buckle shoes, their stylish haircuts fashioned in the latest styles. The cards on the dealing tables made a delightful whirring sound as they were shuffled and dealt to the players. The slot machines clicked and spun, their polished handles gleaming in the lights as the handles were pulled to reveal their winnings. And above all the noise, she could decipher the sound of the plastic chips that had been won, jingling in the hands and pockets of the patrons around her.

Plastic chips meant that you had won. Plastic chips meant that you could gamble more. Plastic chips meant _money._

Alice tried to observe the things around her for awhile, but soon her curiosity got the best of her and she sat down at the table. She had busied herself during the past few hours in Baton Rouge by picking up dropped nickels and pennies on the street, and was delighted to know that it only took a small amount to enter into the game. The crowd at the table gave her a few strange looks as she sat down in her slightly tattered farmer's wife dress, but she paid them no attention.

Alice learned several things quickly. First, the men back in the small towns she had watched play poker were not actually very good at playing poker. She lost the first few rounds of the game due to her lack of knowledge before she decided to swing the game in her favor. She didn't really wish to mess around much longer with the silly game. Alice also learned that she did not like to lose.

She had learned that by concentrating, she was able to will her visions to come and show her things that she wanted. For instance, what cards she would need to win.

Of course, winning every game in a row with exceedingly better and better hands each time did earn her some curious and incredulous stares.

"Miss, you've already won nearly five thousand dollars. How'd you learn to play poker so good?" the gentleman beside her drawled after she put down her fourth full house.

She paused a moment, quickly coming up with what would be one of many lies she would tell while in Louisiana.

"Daddy liked to play cards with me and my brothers. Not much else to do on a farm, I'm afraid," she said quickly, averting her ocher eyes. He frowned at her, but didn't say anything else.

Three hours, two disgusting mint juleps choked down, and seven grand later, Alice skipped out of the casino, the pockets of her ugly blue dress full of cash.

The gentleman at the poker table was not the only person who would have something to say to her that day.

"Miss, these casinos are an abomination on our society! We cannot support them anymore!" a man yelled at her, shaking a thick book in her face.

She cocked her small head and looked at him strangely, her orange eyes wide. "What is that?" she asked, looking at the thick, gold lined book.

"This is the Bible my child! We cannot support these capers on society any longer! Can we count on your support to help banish these atrocities from the great state of Louisiana!" he half yelled in her face as she walked out onto the street.

"Why would you do that?" she asked carefully, her face showing her disgust. Casinos were _marvelous._

"I am an evangelist sent from God to help dispel these evil establishments!"

She giggled at that man's serious face, her mouth breaking out into a large smile as she pulled out her huge wads of cash to make a fan.

"But why would we do that? They give me _money_!" she trilled gleefully in the shocked man's face, skipping away with a giggle. And so, Alice's love affair with gambling had been fashioned.

x-X-x-X-x

She had stolen away out of the city for the night to hunt when she got her next vision of the beautiful, blonde haired man from one of her first visions.

She was draining the deer gracefully when suddenly her body stiffened, causing her to drop its neck and nearly choke on the flow of crimson liquid as it dribbled down her chin.

_It was dark in the alley where he hid, the stillness making the quiet blare loudly in his ears. It was too much as he licked his lips and waited. His eyes were nearly black, the dark circles under them pronounced and bruised. He was thirsty…very thirsty. _

_He winced and crouched back further into the shadows as a young man walked by, hands in his pockets, whistling to himself. The air in the alley where he hid stirred as he walked past, making him grab his throat and cringe. It was too much. Before the man could cry out in surprise, he reached out like a flash and pulled him into the darkness, snapping his neck quickly with a dull crunch._

_He squeezed his eyes shut as the sound echoed off the bricks and the man's body went slack as he died. His blonde waves fell down into his eyes as he lowered his lips towards the still pulsing vein in his neck, recoiling slightly as he paused. He inhaled deeply and swallowed before sinking his teeth into the thin flesh. It had been too long. _

Alice came back to reality, frowning as she wiped the blood off her chin that had slid down during her all-too-brief vision of this honey-haired, handsome young man. Her dead heart ached for him, even though she had no idea who he was. She certainly wanted to know though. It was something about his pained, lonely, crimson eyes that made her want to join hands with him and lead him away from all that was obviously troubling him. Alice felt awful that he appeared to be so miserable when the key to happiness was right in front of him: animal blood.

With each feeding he did, his eyes grew more and more somber and miserable. His eyes looked like the teenage boy she had killed that first day in the farmhouse: drained and lifeless.

She had a vision of him about once a week, indicating that he was obviously someone important, but she wasn't sure how just yet. But if she wouldn't have these pictures of him every week or so if he wasn't meant to be there, would she?

No, she thought, shaking her head to herself as she carefully finished draining the deer. She wished she could meet this man who obviously did not want to kill humans anymore either. In her mind, she tried to picture meeting him, becoming friends with him, showing him how to live without the guilt and murders.

Glancing down at the lifeless animal in her hands, she still felt a little guilty for killing something, but somehow she felt like the animals understood more. They were all hunted themselves, what difference did it make if it was her, or a bear, or a wolf? She wasn't sure, but she knew that she felt remorse for doing it period. Here, out in the wild…it just felt more natural to hunt them, rather than hide in an alley and kill a human. And it certainly helped the unpleasant burning in her throat.

She carefully hand dug a shallow hole, carefully placing the dead deer in it before covering it back up with care. Arranging the sticks and leaves over the top to make it look natural, she looked around for something to complete the picture. Plucking a few wild violets from the ground, she made a makeshift bouquet with a few dandelions that were around her and placed it on top of deer's grave. She picked one more to put behind her ear, brushed off her hands, and began to prance back to the hotel.

x-X-x-X-x

With money came opportunity. Granted, Alice wasn't sure what to do with her money, but she was very happy to have it. She did know that she needed a place to stay, so she wandered to the biggest, grandest hotel she could find after leaving the casino and bought a week's stay in one of its rooms.

The grand room gave her a view of the entire city and all of its activity, and she was absolutely thrilled. After retching up the liquor she had choked down at the poker table, she made her way out to the shops that lined the busy street of the hotel. There were endless shop windows full of dresses, shoes, purses, hats, coats…she clapped her hands in excitement, earning her a few pointed stares, but she didn't care.

Because Alice had discovered _shopping._

It was wonderful; she could pick out anything she wanted, point to it, show the clerk her money, and the storeowners practically stepped on themselves to help her once they laid eyes upon her enormous stack of crisp tens and twenties. She didn't even have to speak! That was a good thing too…some of the young girls in the stores smelled delightful to her, so she was forced to hold her breath most of the time.

However, she quickly discovered that she was more interested in the beaded, shiny clutch in the window than murdering the store attendant that would sell it to her.

Yes, shopping and gambling had become her two favorite pastimes while in Baton Rouge.

x-X-x-X-x

She was returning to the hotel a few weeks later when she was suddenly stopped by the manager. The short, balding man had explained that they did not want people living in their hotel. She had refused maid service the entire time she was there, and he suspected that she was trying reside there permanently. As annoyed as Alice was, the last thing she really wanted to do was draw attention to herself, so she packed up her new, small suitcase and left. Even though she planned to run wherever she went to next, she had no intention of leaving her pretty new things behind.

One she left Baton Rouge, she wasn't sure where to go next. Biding her time in the woods, she was surprised one day to encounter a red eyed man whose skin appeared to be just like hers.

"I've been waiting for you," he said, leaning against a tree. She looked at him strangely, not sure what he was referring to.

"You have? Who are you?" she asked inquisitively, cocking her head to the side.

He paused a moment, ignoring her question. "What's wrong with your eyes? Are they…" he trailed off, stepping closer to her to stare into her now almost golden pupils.

"My eyes?"

"Hmmm…almost like Carlisle's…."

"Who is Carlisle?"

"I figured New Orleans would be your next stop…turns out Aro was wrong...My gift hasn't diminished over time like he threatened."

"Aro?"

He stepped even closer to her so that he was almost nose to nose. "You know, I had quite the time cleaning up that mess you left me in Biloxi, young lady. I didn't need to do that! Usually I am the one doing tracking!"

"Mess?"

"A vampire doesn't just go around, leaving a trail of drained bodies lying in its wake! You'll be executed for sure! Young…reckless…creating them and then leaving...Who is your creator? Didn't he teach you the ways?

"Wait…" she held up her tiny hand in his face, her golden eyes growing still. "I'm a…a…what?"

He turned away and laughed in disbelief. "A vampire! Goodness child! You are a vampire!"

"I am?" she asked, now thoroughly confused. "I'm a vampire?"

"Do you see any of the humans you cavort with draining bodies? Do they sparkle like a jewel in the sunlight?"

"No….but wait, how did I become a vampire?"

"Crazy to be talking to her…they'll see me and execute me for sure…"

She stamped her tiny foot impatiently. "You're not answering any of my questions!" she huffed. He looked up, standing close to her again.

"Who are you?"

"I…my dear…am Alistair. I am also…a vampire," he said dramatically, flourishing his hands around him. "And you must stop being so careless if you do not wish to be caught!"

"Caught?"

He laughed again, this time more outrageously and incredulously, as if he could not believe her stupidity.

"Yes! They will punish you for killing people and for drawing attention to us! You must be more careful. You must never let the humans catch on! Then it will be the end of us…yes…the end…."

"Wait, how am I a vampire?"

He looked at her strangely. "You mean…you don't know?"

"No," she said simply, frowning at him again. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"You don't know anything about us?"

"No!" she huffed, stamping her foot again. "What do you mean?"

"You must learn not slip up. If you do kill, hide the body so that it will never be found. We cannot be linked to any murders…." He mumbled, stroking his chin as he turned to pace. His movements were fast and choppy, and he was visibly shaken. He kept looking up to glance at the trees around them, as if they were being watched.

"What about me? Why am I different?" she persisted. Alice had gotten an opportunity to get some answers and she was going to get them, damn it.

"You are very different," he said hurriedly, shaking his head at her, his red eyes wide. "You have stopped aging. However you look now, that will be it."

"For how long?"

He looked at her in amazement, his red eyes growing even wider. "Forever, dear, forever!"

He shook his head at her, and then looked around them suspiciously. "I've said too much. I must go now. Remember – keep it secret."

And then with a flash, he was gone. Alice let out a frustrated puff of air, stomping her foot for the third time in anger.

She made her way through the woods, meandering for a few days. How was she supposed to act now that she knew she wouldn't age, and she had forever? She couldn't decide.

As she approached the outskirts New Orleans, walking with a jaunt to her step and her suitcase swinging, a vision made her body stiffen. She smiled slightly in anticipation, silently hoping that it was going to be another picture of her blonde haired man, but this was different. There were several of them, and they were…different.

_A tall, blonde haired man stood beside the bed of a caramel color haired woman as she slept, her body twitching and moving slightly as she moaned. Another, bronze haired man entered the room, his face drawn and stressed. _

"_Carlisle, I…I need to apologize to you," he said quietly, his eyes flicking up to look at the blonde haired man. _

_He sighed, fingering his locks as if deep in thought while he stared down at the young woman who looked like she was sleeping, but perhaps in the middle of an awful dream. _

"_I only wanted to save her, Edward. I remembered her from long ago, and I couldn't bear to see her die."_

_"And you're sure?" the young man asked, looking at him carefully._

_The man named Carlisle looked up at him, nodding assuredly. "I am. She will be a wonderful addition to our family if she is still anything like she was back in Ohio as a girl. I've never forgotten her kind face," he replied. _

"_I just…never would have expected this," the other said, his lips pressing together tightly. "If you're sure…"_

_"I am," Carlisle said. He looked down at the woman, a faint, but pained smile on his face. "Sleep, dear Esme. It will all be over soon," he said, brushing his fingertips along her arm. His eyes, black with thirst and hallow looking, closed. _

_The younger man took his arm, pulling him towards the door of the small bedroom. "You need to hunt. It's been too long…go…I'll sit with her, I promise. She won't be awake for a few hours yet."_

_The blonde man left the room quickly, his body moving at vampire speed as he left. The young man sat down beside the bed in an armchair and opened a book to read while he waited. _

She came back from that very confused about several things. First, why was the woman sleeping? She knew that sleeping was something humans did, mainly at night, and it was something she could not do…so the woman was obviously human. Two, if she was a human, why would she be joining two male vampires? She was lost deep in a reverie when she realized something.

The blonde man, Carlisle, had black, thirsty eyes, but the younger man had golden ones, just like hers now were.

_They were animal feeders!_

She clapped quietly to herself with absolute elation, delighted to have found someone else like her! But…where were they? All the pictures had shown her was a nice, cozy farmhouse. He had said something about Ohio, but he didn't sound like that was where they were anymore. She frowned. She would just have to wait.

Alice had also figured out over the past few months that the pictures sometimes showed her things that hadn't yet come to pass; in fact, most of the time the things she saw had yet to happen. This was confusing. It was a strange thing to watch something happen before it had actually happened.

When she arrived in New Orleans, she was glad to see that it was an even bigger city than Baton Rouge, and prettier too. Alice could definitely appreciate the aesthetics of the beautiful city and it buildings. A few days after arriving there, she watched the humans celebrate the coming of a new year; it was now 1921.

She sat, perched on a rooftop high above the city, fingering the party crown she had found discarded on the street a few hours before. The humans howled with delight and danced in the streets as they counted down to midnight. Oh, how she wished to join in the party.

Her curiosity had peaked at one point earlier in the evening and she had swiped a half-full bottle of champagne from an outdoor café after some people were done drinking it. It sat beside her on the roof, untouched. She glanced sideways at it as the people celebrated down below. She poured some into her hand, watching as the bubbles slid and fizzled over her smooth skin, laughing quietly to herself. She wanted to consume it and feel silly like humans often did, but her experience with the mint juleps in the casino had helped her learn that particular lesson.

She had tried to will a vision of her blonde haired, crimson eyed vampire several times that evening, but nothing had come. Alice wanted nothing more than to see him tonight, if only to ease her loneliness a little. Most of the time, she didn't mind being alone, but sometimes a companion would have been nice. She could only hope that 1921 would be the year she would find him, and maybe even her three potential friends in the farmhouse.

x-X-x-X-x

It was several weeks later on a humid night when Alice was walking through the woods, swinging her suitcase. She had grown tired of the humid air, boggy swamps, and sunny weather of the south. North was where she was headed. In all of her visions of her four potential friends, the weather looked cold and icy, which it certainly wasn't in New Orleans.

Her body stiffened, and she dropped her suitcase quickly, letting it take her. A sob fell from her mouth when she recognized the woman she was watching, and realized what she was about to do.

_The caramel haired woman let her bare feet crunch on the icy snow and rocks as she walked forward, her eyes unseeing. Her hands shook slightly, the rest of her body soon following as she continued to walk forward. The cold wind whipped around her, tossing her curls around her face, but she didn't care. She just kept walking forward._

_She approached the edge, her toes hanging over slightly, as if to test herself. Another sob from her mouth made her whole body shake again, her eyes clenching shut as if to push the rest of the tears out. _

"_Matthew," she murmured, clutching her chest tightly. A few more tears slid down her cheeks, and then she stepped off the edge. _

Alice fell to the ground, completely horrified. After that, she mourned for several days at what she had seen, although she was confused. If the human woman jumped off the cliff, how did she end up in the bed in the farmhouse with the other two vampires? Did they save her? And how?

The more she replayed the scene she had viewed, the more she didn't understand.

She shook her little head, more confused now than ever.

x-X-x-X-x

The more time that passed, it got a little harder to keep the skip in her step and a smile on her face. While she adored her life of sparkly skin, super speed, shopping, and seeing the future, some of these things came with great disadvantages.

She had traveled away from the South not long after the New Year in 1921 when she decided it was too sunny and she didn't like the swamps. The shopping never got old and neither did gambling, but her solitary life was slowly wearing on her happy demeanor; Alice was lonely.

The visions had never stopped – once a month or so, she would get a glimpse into the lives of Edward and Carlisle, and their new family member Esme. She wasn't entirely sure how, but her visions of Esme had continued even after the woman had jumped. It had suddenly become clear to her. Carlisle had changed her into a vampire to join their family.

She had collected bits and clips of her visions of them and had combined them in her head to play like a picture show. It was a show that she had played for herself in her mind many lonely nights. She was certain that these people were meant to be something to her – her family, she hoped.

Alice stayed in hotels mainly, living along the Mississippi river. She had discovered gambling boats in her second year, and they delighted her. Never staying in one place for too long got tiring, even for someone who never got tired.

Her visions of the blonde haired, scarred man that still somehow seemed beautiful to her had slowed considerably. The first few years, she only caught five or six glimpses of him, which made her very sad. She almost felt like he was slipping farther and farther away from her as she watched him continue to struggle with not killing humans. He visited his two dark haired friends that she had seen him with occasionally, never staying too long though. It was almost like he was afraid to let himself get attached to anything.

Alice wanted to find this man more than anything, but it was almost like fate wouldn't let her. So, she busied herself with gambling, shopping, and perfecting her comfort around humans. She studied them more and more; she would order countless cups of untouched coffee just to sit in a diner and listen to their conversations and hear how they talked to each other. Fashion magazines, books, and radios enchanted her, and she spent much of her time studying them. The rest of her time was spent deciding where to travel next, where to invest her gambling winnings, and playing with the stock market.

She felt the fabric between her fingers, smiling at the feeling of silk against her skin. The shimmering fabric hung against her sides beautifully, bunching in all the right places. Stepping in front of the mirrors, she twisted and turned, a giggle escaping her lips.

"Oh! I'm so jealous….you've got such a great figure for these flapper style dresses!" the salesgirl chirped, resting her hand on her cheek with a sigh. Alice smiled and held her breath, ignoring the singed feeling in her throat as the young girl rushed up to her.

"Thank you," she said quickly, turning around to look at the back. It was an emerald green and hung down to her knees and was covered in beautiful silver beading. They gleamed and dangled with her movements, the fringe sliding over her knees as she walked back to the dressing room with a pleasant _swish_.

"I'll take it," she added, nodding at the sales girl. The young girl ran to ring it up, and Alice stepped back into her original dress. She had been living in an abandoned farmhouse outside of Lexington, Kentucky for several months, and had come into town to withdraw her money for the bank for a special purchase today– a car.

It was tiring to keep lugging her suitcases around, and her fancy dresses she kept buying were starting to look ridiculous hanging in the corner of the living room in her run-down shack of a house that she had been staying in.

Yes, today would be different. She was almost sure that the weather was colder wherever her future family was at the moment. Her determination to find them was almost palpable. She had convinced herself after many long hours of thought that these three loving people would help her find the strange, blonde haired man that apparently needed her. Many times she had seen Edward's gift, Esme's love, and Carlisle compassion – how could they not help her find him?

"Come again, Miss Alice!" the little girl behind the counter said, handing her the new, boxed up dress and matching handbag.

Alice took the bag, her gloved hand brushing with the girl's. She had discovered that gloves would help disguise her cold skin when shopping, and she liked the way the silk felt against it anyway.

She would be leaving Kentucky today and buying a car to travel to her biggest adventure yet – New York City.

Alice wasn't sure what she would do once she got there, or how she would find the four missing pieces of her future life, but she was determined to do it in anyway she could. She had hope that her special gift of foresight would help her, and her empty, lonely heart would drive her. It was sad for her to feel the emptiness, but the only thing that made her continue to put one foot in front of the other was the hope that it would someday be filled with love. Love for Carlisle, love for Esme and Edward, and perhaps even the honey-haired man.

"Thank you again," she added, giving her a wave as Alice reached for the door. "You have a nice rest of the day!"

Alice smiled, pulling her sunglasses down over her eyes as she pushed the door open further. "Oh, I'll be sure to," she said, flashing the girl behind the counter a smile. She stepped out into the overcast day, adjusting her hat over her choppy black hair. She smiled, remembering that due to lack of sleep, everyday was technically the same day. And although today was the same day that it would always be for her, she hoped that it would indeed be a nice rest of the day.

And she intended it to be just that. A good day.

x-X-x-X-x

Well there you are! I hope you enjoyed Alice. **Remember, if you'd like to hear more of her tale specifically, you have to review and tell me! I am only going to write continuations of the characters that get the most response. If they all get a tremendous response, then I'll write a second part for all of them. If certain characters get more than others, then I'll just go that route. So please take a second and cast your vote!**

These are getting more and more fun to write as I go, and the support so far has been phenomenal. I'm trying very hard to make these good, and I'm *thrilled* that people are digging them so much.

Please Review and let me know what your favorite part was! : )


	5. Esme : 1921

I give you Esme!

This was heart wrenching to write, but had to be done. Esme's tale is one of the saddest in my mind, but needed to be written. However, remember while reading that she does eventually have her happy ending. I write the characters in these stories to be the seeds – they eventually grow and change to become the characters we fell in love with in The Twilight Saga. That being said, please realize that they might not do things you would assume the 'Twilight' version of them to do.

**I believe that the changes that make them Immortal have a large impact on their lives. **Enjoy!

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

**Esme - 1921**

"There you are dear…now try to go home and get some rest, okay?"

Esme stared blankly at the nurse that was discharging her as she handed her papers to sign. She stood, frozen and blank faced in the hospital office, looking unfeelingly at the woman in front of her.

"After you sign these…" she said, pushing the paper a little further towards her, "after you sign these everything will be…taken care of.' The nurse adjusted her tightly collared shirt and gave the small woman in front of her a tight, pained smile. It was obvious she wanted her out of there as quickly as possible to tend to her other list of duties for the evening.

Esme blinked, her expression empty as she licked her parched lips, her eyes slowly moving down to the counter where the paperwork sat.

_I came in here with something and now I'm leaving with nothing…_

Her movements were a little pained and slow; the tablet the nurse had told her to put under her tongue several hours ago hadn't helped. She said it would make her feel better; instead it just made her feel sluggish and queasy.

The light above them hummed slightly, cracking quietly as a fuse shortened, bringing Esme back to the present. She would have rather scratched out her own eyes than sign the release papers in front of her. The nurse tapped where she was to sign with her pen, quickly turning it around the Esme to grasp.

Esme signed her name, her fingertips so numb she could barely feel the pen grasped in her hands. She wasn't even sure if she had even written anything legible.

"There you are. Now like I said…go home…take a few days. Things will all go back to normal, you see?" She gave her an expectant look, and Esme nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.

Picking up her over packed carpet bag from the tile floor, she began to walk towards the hospital doors. As soon as the January air hit her face, she realized that her head had begun to throb. Not that she was surprised. She had done more crying in the past three days than she had done or ever would do, she was sure.

Her head felt lighter than usual as she tried to focus.

She stood outside the small, Bayfield hospital doors. The cruel, late January wind of Wisconsin whipped around her pale face, furthering her anguish. She began to walk, slowly putting one food in front of the other, but with no end in mind.

Pulling her worn wool coat tighter around her, she fastened the belt of it around her still tender stomach, wincing slightly as she pulled it taught. Her hand went to apply pressure to the aching muscles that dwelled there, and her heart instantly sank.

The pain of entering a hospital so warm and full of life and having to leave just days later empty and void of it was a feeling she wouldn't have wished up on her worse enemy. _Void_ did not even come close to describing the feeling of the hole in her chest that ached for her little boy. She had held him as he gasped for his last little breaths, his little body falling still after fighting for his short life.

She was alone now, once again. Clutching her hand across her stomach, she felt her lip start to tremble as she was suddenly sucked into the emptiness of her womb. Her baby didn't dwell there anymore….

Her baby, Matthew, had only lived to barely complete his second day on earth, only to fall ill and die shortly after midnight the night before. She had known something was wrong when she had gotten up to feed him and his little body was shaking with pain as a violent fever had overtaken him. His immune system was too weak to compete, and he hadn't lived to see the morning. The hospital had allowed her to stay all day that day in order to collect herself and finish healing her external wounds from giving birth.

_But how was she to heal the wounds that now dwelled in her heart? _

Her chest began to ache as the familiar feeling of approaching tears began to overcome her. She would have never thought it was possible for her heart to physically break; however, this feeling was uncannily like what she would imagine a heart breaking to feel like.

She bit her lip as she looked around again, hoping to see something. A sign, an idea, anything to give her a clue as to what to do next. She had nowhere to go now. It had taken an almost unreasonable amount of assuring the hospital nurse that she was a war widow and that she had no family left to call. The hospital had not wanted her to suffer alone today after her new baby's death, but Esme knew that suffering alone was better than suffering the wrath of her husband.

The kind nurse that had helped her in labor had gently assured her as she wept that Matthew's death was not her fault; the infection he carried had been with him even in the womb, and it was nothing Esme did. His immune system had been weak from the start, and being born a few weeks early had not helped his case. Even with reassurance, Esme still felt like she was to blame for her little angel's death.

She reached in her pocket and fingered the small hospital bracelet that they had cut off his little wrist when he had passed away early that morning. She had sobbed when they handed it to her, along with his little blue hat and night gown.

The wind whipped around the corner of the hospital, slamming her caramel hair into the side of her face. She winced and tried to smooth it down; her normal curls that she carefully styled had been replaced with rats and snarls from spending all day curled up in bed. Glancing at herself in a store window, she bit her trembling lip when she saw how wrecked she looked. Her pale face was drawn and puffy from crying, and her wrinkled clothes from her small bag did nothing to help her.

The sadness kept bubbling up in her chest, making it hard to breathe. If she returned home to her husband, she would surely pay for not returning with his son. She had no real money or ideas as to where to go, and it was quickly getting darker and colder with each passing minute.

Esme Platt was truly alone.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

"Here ya go child," the older woman muttered, setting down a cup of coffee in front of her. "It's not that fresh, but it's hot," she said.

"That's fine," Esme said, wrapping her small hands around the steaming mug. She watched as the waitress walked away, wincing as she plodded on her tired feet. The ball above the door rang merrily as another couple left the already quiet little coffee shop.

Esme looked down at the steam that was rising in smoking rings from the cup, her hands soaking up the warmth from the hot liquid. She didn't even really enjoy coffee normally, but it was the only thing she could really afford to buy at the diner with the few dollars she had to her name, and it was hot.

She wasn't sure how long she sat, sipping the coffee as it grew cold, her eyes darting up to watch the clock get later and later. The little diner hadn't been busy when she walked in several hours before, and it certainly wasn't busy now. One couple remained, and the waitress was leaning on the counter, tapping her fingers as she waited impatiently for the clientele to leave. When they finally stood and left, Esme looked at the woman with guilty eyes.

"I'll be leaving now, sorry to stay so late," she said quietly, leaving a few coins on the small table she had taken up for several hours.

"It's no trouble. You come back now, hear?" she said gruffly, leaning down to wipe the table.

"Yes…I will," Esme mumbled, tightening her coat around her middle and stepping outside. That was a lie.

Several aspects of her life had become very apparent while she lingered there, all alone in the corner coffee shop. Esme had sat there, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she had run down the list. Her parents would never support her or hide her from her husband, who would want to come after her for sure for the death of his son. It wasn't' possible to go back to that after what she had been through. It would be too much to bear, and she had been through enough pain the last few months to last her a lifetime. She had nowhere to go, no money, and no hope for anything else. She couldn't even afford a place to stay.

Esme stood in the protection of the diner's entrance nook for a few seconds before stepping out and letting the cruel Wisconsin air beat at her cheeks.

_Even the wind feels as if it wants to punish me._

She didn't plan to come back to that diner, she didn't plan to come back to Bayfield…. she didn't' plan to come back anywhere _period._

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

Matthew.

_Matthew. _

Her thoughts took a desperate and agonizing turn as she shuffled down the sidewalk towards the edge of town.

_Was he with the angels now in heaven? Would they know how to take care of her darling baby boy?_ Her heart ached at the next thought she had.

_What if she was to…join him? Surely God would forgive her. She couldn't live on this earth anymore, haunted by her painful memories and the very real danger that was her husband. Would it be so bad to end it all?_

No, it certainly would not. Even if there was nothing waiting for her in her afterlife but a bleak nothingness, it would at least be better than what life could offer her now. Floating on a sea of black unfeeling for the rest of eternity would be better than being punished here on earth.

She mindlessly walked to the edge of the town of Bayfield, which sat near the edge of Lake Superior. It was a pretty little town, very small and picturesque, but that didn't even register with Esme. It was a horrid place that held the cruelest, most painful memories for her and she couldn't bear to be there for one more second.

The lights of the streets only shone so far, and now she found herself in the darkness as she walked through the woods. It was almost like another force was pulling her forward, away from all the pain that dwelled there. The full moon shone brightly, illuminating the frosty forest as the leaves crunched under her feet. Glancing over her shoulder, she made her sure no one had seen her leave the sidewalks and head into the forest.

A strange wave of calm had washed over her, soothing her pain and frazzled nerves as soon as her decision had been made. The bare branches of the little saplings barely stung as they brushed across her frozen cheeks. The snow crunched under her feet, the sleet giving it a thin coating of ice.

_This place is cold. And Cruel. I don't want to stay here anymore. If only someone would do it for me. I'm…I'm so scared._

Things would be better from now on. She had mourned her baby boy and was ready for it all to be over.

The wind off the lake had increased tenfold since she had left the protection of the buildings in town. It now raced around her little body, chilling it deeply. Yet somehow, the cold made her feel even better as it numbed her to the core. Her pained emotions wound themselves through her limbs with bone crushing agony, but the cold wind was slowly making all of the pain go away.

She approached the end of the tree line, wincing a little as her shoes crunched against the gravel and what was left of a recent snow. The tears that had fallen down her pale cheeks left tracks of moisture on them, and they burned in the cold. The moon shone down brightly as the gentle waves lapped at the rocky shoreline below, the waves making a cracking sound as they hit the ice that still gathered there. Esme looked up at the slightly clouded sky, her eyes searching for the stars that she knew were behind it. The wind had moved a light shield over the moon, and she lowered her head as the darkness shrouded her.

_It all felt like a cruel punishment. _

She was alone in the darkness, and at this moment, she felt as though she was more alone than anyone had ever been. Dropping her bag down, she barely registered the soft 'thump' it made as it hit the ground. Her now empty hands shook slightly as she walked further and further towards the edge. The waves lapping at the shore seemed to call quietly to her as she stood there, another gust of chilly wind hitting her face.

All she wanted was for the pain to be over. She wanted to be alone in a sea of black nothingness where she couldn't feel pain, fear, or abandonment anymore. All she wanted was for it to be over.

And then, she took her next step.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

She didn't remember falling, she didn't remember the wind in her hair as her small body sailed down the cliff face, and she didn't remember meeting the rock-strewn bottom with a deafening smack. All she knew is that she couldn't feel anything anymore after that. And really, that was all that mattered.

It was over.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

However, death has different plans for everyone.

_How cruel,_ she thought as the cold returned. Everything had returned; the cold, the pain, the awfulness of it all.

Hands jostled her as she waited patiently for death. She was waiting for a time when the pain would stop, and she could be with her baby again, away from the cruelness of the world.

"We have to take her to Ashland," a voice said above her.

"Why take her all the way down there?" Another echoed.

"No ID on her. The state won't pay to bury the homeless….Ashland will at least cremate her when they get enough," the first answered.

_Cremate me? Why would the cremate me? I'm not dead! _She screamed in her mind. Panic washed through her body temporarily as she struggled to come to and show the men that had found her that she was alive still. She contemplated being burned alive and almost cried out at the thought of going through two awful things in one day – _jumping off a cliff, and then being burned alive_? Then, the pain began to come in waves, and she finally drifted on her sea of blackness.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

Cool hands. No, _cold_ hands brushed against her forehead. Down her arms….to her wrists…over her hands….they were so _cold. _

She knew that touch…those hands…her mind struggled to fight against the bleakness that called to her. Something about those hands gave her hope, and comfort, and happiness.

Her mind briefly took her away from the agony, the chill of the room she was in now, and then shame of what she had just done to a better time in her life. A time when falling out of an old cherry tree and dealing with her grumpy father had been the most of her worries….

"_So she'll be good to go in a few weeks, right doc?" Her father asked, his voice gruff and tired. A sixteen year old Esme smiled weakly at her father, and he averted his eyes to look at the young doctor that had mended her leg the day before. _

_Esme felt horrible for falling out of the tree. She hadn't been paying attention to anything except for the romance novel she had finally worked up the courage to check out from the library when she had fallen from one of the top branches of the old tree. _

_She wasn't' really sure which had been more humiliating; falling out of the tree after climbing them for years, or her father coming to help her and finding her with a smutty book not suited for someone twice her age. He had to pause his work for the day to take her into the hospital to have her leg mended, and a farmer losing a day's work was not a good thing. It was springtime and he was very busy. He looked tired to her as she watched him sign her hospital release papers._

"_Yes, she should take it easy for the first week or so, keeping the leg propped up to reduce swelling," the young doctor replied, quickly tossing a playful wink at young Esme. She felt her cheeks start to flush as she looked at her lap, praying that her father hadn't seen the exchange. _

_He finished signing his name, handing the clipboard back to the doctor. "I'll let her get dressed," he said shortly, tipping his hat to the doctor briefly before exiting the room._

Esme exhaled quickly, her eyes darting up to look at Dr. Cullen. He smiled warmly at her, patting her arm with his cold hand. 

_She looked at him carefully, easily getting swept up in his unique golden eyes and kind smile. She felt herself start to blush and quickly looked down at her hands again. _

"_Thank you for…checking up on me last night," she said softly, reaching up to twirl a piece of her hair around her finger absently. "Did you work all night? I could have sworn I saw you at all times of the night."_

_He looked down quickly, his golden eyes then meeting her own light brown ones and smiled. "Yes, well…I work a lot you could say."_

"_Don't you have a family that misses you?" she asked with a light laugh. "I'm always sad when my pa works through dinner!"_

_He smiled at her, his pretty eyes growing sad for a second. "No, dear, I do not. I am not married, and I do not have children. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a workaholic," he admitted sheepishly. She grinned at him and his eyes seemed to dance at the attention._

"_Oh, well..I'm sorry, I didn't' mean to pry," she said after a few seconds of awkward silence. Her heart thrummed wildly, and he looked over at her again and nodded._

"_It's alright," he replied softly._

"_Momma always says I can prattle on for hours about nothing, asking nosy questions and such…I don't mean to carry on like that, I just get nervous and talk a lot," she admitted with a smile. _

_The young doctor reached over and patted her small hand with his cool touch, her eyes darting up to meet his again. He pulled back, as if he didn't know he was going to do that._

"_Your hand…" she said. "You're…so cold. Dr. Cullen, do you fell well yourself?" she asked with a sly smile._

_He looked down at the floor before glancing up at her again. "I run cold," he said with a smile, wringing his hands behind his back. They shared one last shy smile before he excused himself to let her change back into her faded yellow dress that she had been brought to the hospital in. _

Somehow, somewhere in the sea of agony the she was now riding on, Esme knew that cold, soft, knowing touch. There was no mistaking those hands.

They were strong, although she could sense that she was no feeling the extent of their strength. They were soft, almost like they were made of satin yet had the strength of polished steel. And their coolness….

She was being lifted. His hands had sensed her life, and she was being taken away. Somehow she knew that those cold hands would bring her the relief she so wanted. She trusted them without knowing the outcome, and she would never look back.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

It was cold as they flew. The steely hands had hastily wrapped her in a blanket, and now they were flying.

_Hopefully this is the road to heaven….to Matthew…to the end of pain…to freedom,_ she thought.

_How wrong she was…_

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

Soon, the sea of nothingness she floated on had gone from bleak and numb to horrid and taunting. Razors had ripped into her neck, but she would have taken the pain of that over and over again in comparison to the fire that now ripped through her broken limbs.

_For she was truly broken_; she knew this. Even though it was hard to see through the veil of agony that was now draped over her entire being, she could feel that parts of her were broken and smashed from her fall. She realized with even more sadness that she could no longer feel her legs.

Her limbs and bones cracked and crunched as the strange burning tore through her veins, igniting every cell, every fiber of her being.

Hot. _Hot. Burning hot. _

She was sure that she was on fire. A whimper escaped her lips, and the cool hand returned to stroke her tender cheek. _Relief…._

She drifted deeper. Each time she came to the surface, she expected for death to finally find her. But she was only met with more and more pain and suffering. She vaguely heard voices talking over her; nothing seemed to pacify her as the evil fire spread.

_Why am I not dying? Where is my son? Why am I being tortured like this? _She briefly thought. It was hard to work even her mind – every inch of her was being seared and singed to a black ash as she laid there, choking for air. It never seemed to end; she was sure that days had gone by since she had left the top of the cliff. She had only jumped from the top of the rock face to end her suffering – not prolong it.

When she thought that it was almost over, she was able to breathe a sigh of relief. The air swooshed out of her lungs, and her whole body began to relax as she could feel the pain being sucked out of her fingers, limbs, and torso.

Then the real torture began.

Her heart began to thrum wildly for minutes at a time before faltering at the ripping, burning fire that was moving through it, thundering through ever cell. It rang in her ears as it fought against the flames that now dwelled there, trying with its every last fiber to stay in control. It was failing.

Her mind fought and struggled to distract her as she laid there burning. It took her back to a cherry tree on a farm in Ohio…a tawdry romance novel…a doctor at the hospital, kindly setting her leg and sitting with her in the night, his angelic face showing genuine concern for her.

Oh, how she had longed and dreamed and secretly hoped to see that face again.

_Perhaps I will meet him in heaven….the kind doctor would love my son, and we could live happily together, just the two of us and my girlhood crush…_

Even through the fire, her mind and realistic side of her brain chided her for such a silly thought. She had a horrible, sinking feeling that heaven was not what awaited her at the end of this fiery walk.

Out of nowhere, a cool hand brushed her cheek softly, and she winced slightly at the slightest of pressure.

"Soon, darling, soon…it will all be over soon…" the angel whispered.

_Oh! Sweet relief! Matthew…Matthew…. _She tried her best to focus her thoughts as the fire wracked her heart, causing it to hammer rapidly.

_My heart is going to explode from my chest…I can feel it, _she thought sadly.

A miserable air settled over her as she realized that this was indeed the end. Even though she tried to hope and cling to the thought that Matthew was waiting for her in heaven, she soon came to the assumption that this was just the entrance to hell's gate. She was being punished.

When she thought that she could take no more, and was about to stutter for whoever was with her to kill her swiftly, her skin suddenly cooled. It felt like her body had been one big, gaping wound, and it had suddenly sealed itself, scabbed over, and healed in a millisecond.

_It was over._

The breath left her chest quickly, and she inhaled another breath of the air in the small room.

_Pine….vanilla….spice…some of the best aftershave I've ever smelled… _she thought to herself. There were undertones of other things in the room as well…_old wood…cotton…cashmere….leather……._

She frowned, licking her parched lips. Instantly, she was aware of the fire that burned in the back of her throat, tickling at first, then raging by the time she had finished the thought.

"Esme?" a timid yet familiar voice asked. Her eyes opened, and she turned her head to the side quickly, the feathers in the pillow beneath her head shifting and ruffling.

_Heaven._

"Dr Cullen?" she asked, frowning again slightly. She sat up quickly, clamping her hand over her mouth that had just emitted that angelic voice.

_I sound like an angel! Was that really my voice? Dr. Cullen is here? What is he…this really must be heaven…_ she thought to herself, very confused. This was all very…strange.

He stared at her with the same, strange yellow eyes he had had back when she was a girl. She must be in heaven. Nothing about the handsome, unearthly looking doctor had changed one bit.

"You…you remember who I am?" he asked, smooth, masculine voice ringing in her ears.

_How is it possible that he has not aged…does my mind deceive me? Has he instead grown even more handsome? That was a decade ago, and time seems to have favored him…how…how odd…odd but wonderful._

And yet there he was. The angelic, magnificent, and kind young doctor from Ohio. The source of every one of her girlhood fantasies, the man she had compared all men to. _He was here? Surely, this must be heaven. If this man is in heaven…then I must have done something right. _

Looking around, she saw that she was tucked securely in a large, feather mattress in a room upstairs of what looked like a farmhouse. The wooden walls were bare of any decoration, and early morning light shone through the small window in the corner. The doctor sat in the chair next to the bed, and she felt her chest tighten in embarrassment as she looked down at her torn, tattered dress.

She heard a snicker coming from the corner of the room, and her head darted to look at it. Immediately she met eyes with another young man and an involuntary hiss escaped her lips.

"Oh!" she trilled, clamping her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened again and she pulled the smooth, pale white hand back to look at it closely. That wasn't…_her_ hand, was it?

"Yes, it is," the other man in the corner answered her thought. She didn't' notice though. She was too busy looking at the perfectly sculpted, flawless hand in front of her face. Her eyes could suddenly see every detail about her hand and her new set of pretty nails that didn't look a thing like her old self. Her old hands were home to scars of scrapes and scratches from climbing trees and playing with kittens; her nails were always broken or chipped from working around the house or on the farm. No, this certainly wasn't her hand.

Something was strange…but she wasn't sure she minded.

"It's your hand," the young man said again. She looked up at him, then over at Dr. Cullen again, smiling dreamily.

"Are you angels?" she asked finally, setting her hand back down. She looked at them expectantly. "I….I didn't expect to burn like that before getting here, I just…." She trailed off as she listened to her own voice. It sounded like…_singing. Like bells…like a wind chime…._

"Where is my baby?" she asked, looking around the room expectantly for Matthew. The young doctor turned and looked awkwardly at the young man in the corner of the room, who shook his head.

"Carlisle…" he said, almost in a warning tone. He gave the doctor a disapproving stare.

Dr. Cullen cleared his throat awkwardly, turning his attention back to Esme, who still sat up straight in the bed.

"Esme, how do you feel?" he asked gently.

She felt like she should be blushing under his handsome gaze, but the familiar heat of blood rushing up to her cheeks never came.

"Um…well, different," she said. "But isn't that expected?" she asked, looking at the two of them.

_I didn't really expect to feel like my old self once I reached heaven, so I suppose this makes sense. Everything looks better, smells better…_

Dr. Cullen lowered his gaze and looked over at the young boy, who sat in the corner armchair in the corner watching them with amusement. Esme turned her head slightly, her hair whipping as her face snapped over to look at him. Her hand rose to her face in shock, and her fingers began to feel at the smooth plains of her face.

_Even turning my head is easier! This is really something…_

"Esme," the doctor began again cautiously. "Do you really remember me?"

She_ really_ felt like her face should be blushing furiously by now as the doctor's familiar yet strange golden eyes watched her with growing curiosity.

She nodded. "I do. You're the doctor who fixed my leg back in Ohio when I was a girl," she admitted sheepishly. He smiled at her warmly, and she returned the smile.

_So she was in heaven._

"Not quite," the young boy mumbled.

Esme's head snapped back to look at him. He was young looking, maybe seventeen or eighteen. His coppery brown hair was completely disheveled, hanging in a strange way above his head, the ends sticking up. _It wasn't a bad look for him_, she admitted to herself. _He wears it well. _His expressive golden eyes and sculpted cheekbones allowed him to get away with that particular coif.

He smiled and nodded politely at her, as if to thank her for her internally thought compliment. She frowned again, then looked back at Dr. Cullen.

"Am I…dead? Are we really in heaven?" she asked timidly, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Carlisle looked at her kindly, wringing his hands together as he fidgeted. Esme looked at him quietly, admiring how her new strange eyesight really allowed her to _look_ at the doctor. Her new vision made the planes of his face light up and almost glow in the morning light that was pouring through a small window in the corner.

"Carlisle…" the young man said again quietly, as if to remind him of something. The doctor sprang up from the chair besides the bed and an inhuman speed, sending a shocked Esme darting from the bed to cower on the opposite side of the room.

"Esme, it's alright," the doctor said calmly. "My name is Carlisle, and this is my son, Edward. We don't wish to hurt you," he said.

Esme straightened from her stance, pulling at her clothes. "I…I know that," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

_Why do I feel so jumpy? Almost like…like I'm defensive. The doctor would never let anyone hurt me. _

She looked at the floor, frowning again when she realized she could see every grain in the wood, every spec of dirt between the planks, and even the bits of dust floating through the air.

_Something wasn't right. Why could she see everything in detail? Why would I need to see everything so clearly in heaven? And what is this horrid burning in my throat?!_

Panicked thoughts began to rise in her chest as she realized that she had made the incorrect assumption that she had died and gone to heaven. _Something didn't fit…something wasn't right…._

She glanced at the bed, then the corner where she now stood. How had she gotten over there so fast? Her hand went to cup her throat, which she now remembered was still burning fiercely.

"What…what's wrong with me…what…" her mind went back to the burning that she had suffered for…_days? Hours? How long had that been? _

"What have you done to me?" she asked. "Am I dead? Am I in heaven?" she asked quickly, her voice moving faster than she thought possible.

The doctor paused, looking over at Edward questioningly, and the boy nodded. She was confused by the somehow silent exchange they shared, and she huffed in frustration, drawing their attention back to her.

"Esme," the doctor began. "You aren't in heaven," he said sadly, still wringing his hands together. She looked at him sadly, her eyes feeling the familiar sting of oncoming tears.

She wiped at her eyes, shocked to see that no liquid had pooled there. Lowering her hand awkwardly, she grabbed at her tattered dress, nervously pinching and releasing that material.

"You…you were brought to the hospital where I work as a doctor."

"You're still a doctor?" she breathed, looking up at his kind eyes. His face showed such concern and kindness that she felt her breath get sucked up into her throat. Still, her mind kept persistently telling her that something wasn't' right about what was going on.

"Yes, Esme, I am still a doctor. Do you remember the last thing you did?" he asked quietly. The young boy in the corner pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, as if he was upset. She quickly turned her attention back to the doctor.

"N-no..I…"

_The snow crunched over her feet, the cold Wisconsin wind whipped at her already numb face, stinging where her tears had slid down her cheeks. "Matthew," she cried into the darkness. Then she stepped over the edge._

She gasped as the memory came back to her, fuzzy as it was. "I…I jumped," she said slowly, her eyes glazing over to recall the thought. Her hand went to her cheek, where she waited for the tears to fall again. They didn't.

"I…I jumped off the cliff," she stuttered, looking up at the doctor. "I killed myself," she added sadly. She was instantly blanketed with a feeling of immense shame as the two men looked at her.

"Esme," he began gently, moving towards her slowly. "I know you're hurting right now, but I need to explain something," he said. "You were brought to the hospital where I worked, and the men that found you presumed you dead…and homeless."

She looked up at him, then down at her tattered dress and bare feet, suddenly aware that she did indeed look homeless.

"Please let me explain," he continued. "They were going to cremate your body the next day, and they took you to the morgue. I was working when they brought you in, and I could hear your heart still beating-"

"So I am alive?" she interjected. Her eyes fell down to her perfectly sculpted arms and legs, and suddenly something didn't make sense. _If she had fallen from the cliff, why was she not…broken?_

"In a sense, yes…Esme, why did you think you were in heaven?"

She looked at him, their eyes locking and her breathing speeding up. She realized that her heart should be pounding in her chest at the idea of the thought of being under the handsome doctor's gaze, but she could feel nothing vibrating in her chest.

"I…what…what did you do to me?" she asked, suddenly very aware that her body was not behaving as her body anymore…it felt so foreign…foreign but delightful. She battled with herself to maintain control and stay calm. Her body obeyed but her mind did not.

"Tell her," the young man, Edward, she noted, said gruffly from the corner where he still sat.

Carlisle cleared his throat and continued to wring his hands nervously as he carefully phrased his next words.

"Esme, I heard you heart beating and I checked, you were clearly still alive, although just barely. I remembered you from Ohio, you are correct about that," he said. "I'm afraid that…against my better judgment, I could not let you die."

"Die? I'm…I'm so confused…am I dead or not?"

"Esme, I stole you out of the hospital and brought you here to my home and…and I changed you into what Edward and I are. Please do not be afraid, like I said, we do not wish to harm you in any way," he added quickly. Her eyes dropped again to her pale white arms and legs, and her new heightened senses jumped to the front of her mind.

"Am I an angel now too?" she asked quietly, still very confused.

"No…no, I am afraid that that is not what we are," he said slowly. "Esme, keep in mind, Edward and I are not typical-"

"What have you done to me?" she asked, raising her voice slightly. Her hand cupped her burning throat again as she backed further into the corner.

"I have changed you into a vampire."

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

After her initial shock of the word 'vampire' had worn off, Carlisle and Edward had assured her that they were not the pictures of monsters and demons that popped into her head. Esme had been positively horrified at the idea of being a vampire, and simply refused to believe that the beautiful creatures in front of her were neither living nor dead creatures of the damned.

"I don't believe you," she said simply, her bottom lip quivering as she walked back over to the bed. "I'm not a vampire, vampires don't exist! That's so silly ..I…it can't be."

"Esme, I am not lying to you. Look at me. What looks different about me from when you were a girl in Ohio?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, looking the young doctor up and down, secretly delighted to have an excuse to look unabashedly at the young man. Her new eyes met his before dropping from his eyes

"I…I…n-nothing," she finally admitted, crossing her arms gracefully. Edward finally stepped forward.

"Esme, do you feel the burn in your throat?" he asked. "That is the desire to feed, or drink, rather," he added with a wry grin. Her hand went back up to the smooth plains of her neck to grasp at the throbbing part of her body. It absolutely _ached. _

"That means you need to feed, so please listen to Carlisle. I assure you that we are not the monsters you have pictured in your head," he said with a chuckle. He stepped closer to her and offered his hand. She looked down at it, startled at the gesture…it felt so foreign and strange that he would shake hands with her…

With a shrug she took it, grasping it lightly and moving it. Edward winced and recoiled slightly, making her eyes widen.

"What's the matter?" she asked quickly, dropping his hand.

Carlisle smiled and walked over to her, placing a tentative smile on her shoulder. "Esme, a newborn vampire is the strongest type of vampire," he gently explained. "The human blood from your old body is still giving you much strength."

She looked around the room suddenly, shocked. _My old body? Am I in a new body? Where has it gone?!_ She panicked.

Edward laughed again and walked closer to her, his hands out in a peace signal. "Esme, you are a vampire. We are not monsters, and your body is the same body, just…enhanced slightly. Don't attack me, alright?" Edward asked, putting his hands lightly on her shoulders. She nodded, jumping slightly at the feeling of his hands placed calmly on her body. He turned her gently, and she was facing a wooden dresser and a matching mirror that was beside the bed.

A demon's red, glowing eyes stared back at her, and she whirled around, away from the awful sight of it. She buried her face in Edward's shirt, sobs creeping their way up to her mouth from her aching chest and throat.

"What…w-what was that?" she whispered, lifting her head to peek back over her shoulder. She faintly heard the doctor move forward, closer to the two of them. Edward shot him a warning look, and he stopped suddenly before putting a hand on Esme.

"I..Is that me?" she choked, mustering the courage to look again. The red eyes glittered at her again, and she turned around quickly to rid herself of the haunting image in the mirror.

_That can't be me..This can't be my body…I'm hideous! _Her mind yelped.

Edward carefully unwound Esme's strong arms from his frame, wincing slightly at her strength. "Esme, I can assure you, this is indeed your body. You are not hideous…the venom Carlisle used to change you into one of us just…made some improvements. You are still very much yourself," he said gently. She tried to relax and listen to his obvious attempts to pacify her, and shamefully dropped her arms from the young boy.

He turned her around again, his strong hands holding her steady as she began to take in the image staring back at her.

Never had a creature looked more _unlike_ her than this one did.

She was still slender, but slightly shapely in the middle, her hips and bosom adequately sized in comparison to her waist. Her lean, elegant neck held one of the most beautiful faces she had ever seen. It was heart shaped and graceful, with plump pink lips and cheeks that were just full enough to look charming and not pudgy. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched and sculpted, and they sat above the glittering red eyes that were framed with the longest, fullest eyelashes she had ever seen. The ends of the thick lashes swept out at the corners of her eyes, giving her a sultry yet appealing look. Her hair lay in thick, pretty brown curls that fell just below her shoulders. The light in the room caught it just right, showing the caramel and dark blonde tints that ran through it, the lightest shades framing her flawless, smooth little face.

"Who…who is she?" Esme asked, reaching up to touch the sides of her cheeks.

Carlisle and Edward laughed gently, looking at each other in some sort of private, internal debate.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she said, her voice going up several octaves. She turned to lean on the dresser, cowering away from the two men that shared the room with her. Gripping the dresser caused it to splinter off and break a piece of wood in each of her hands, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

"Oh!" she gasped, dropping the wooden shards to the floor in shock.

"It's alright, Esme, you are very strong," Carlisle said quickly. "And…you..You look beautiful. The venom from my bite just took what features you had and made them more…attractive," the doctor stuttered out shyly. Edward tossed him a pained, annoyed look, and Carlisle took a step back, wringing his hands together again. He opened his mouth to speak again, and thought better of it. He looked at Edward, who looked surprised before explaining things further.

"Esme, then venom changed you so that you can attract…your prey."

"Prey? You make me sound like a wild bobcat!" she said sadly. "I just want something to drink so that my throat stops burning!"

"Yes, well…we need to go hunt," Edward said simply.

"Hunt? I just need a glass of water, maybe some tonic.." she said, shaking her head. She grasped her throat again, carefully sidestepping away from the dresser.

"Oh, Esme…" Edward said, shaking his head. He looked sheepishly over at Carlisle, who dropped his eyes and began to look anywhere in the room but at Esme and Edward.

Edward looked at the young doctor again, rolled his yellow eyes, and muttered, "Fantastic," under his breath.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

"I hope you're happy," Edward muttered, traipsing through the muddy underbrush of the Ashland forest.

Carlisle glared at him flatly, and Esme sniffed her tearless sobs back as she trailed behind them. She was sated for now, but traumatized in general.

Carlisle paused, turning to look at the tiny woman as she unknowingly avoided little saplings and frozen plants, unaware that she could walk right through them with ease. She pulled at the shreds of her now even more tattered dress, attempting to cover herself in front of the two men.

_I've never been humiliated in my entire life._

"Esme, it's alright dear. You surely at venison as a girl on a farm, did you not?" Carlisle said softly.

Esme stopped in her tracks, looking at him with a still-quivering lip. "Y-yes," she said slowly.

_But that doesn't make the act I just committed any better, s_he thought. She had been horrified and repulsed when Edward explained to her what she would have to do to quench the burning in her throat. She had run down to the kitchen and drunk several glasses of the foul tasting water quickly, only to then run outside and wretch them up in front of the handsome doctor and his son.

It had been the most mortifying experience of her life to throw up in front of the doctor.

She had cursed them both the entire time in her head for standing on the porch to watch out of concern when she really just wanted to be alone to vomit up the awful tasting water. It was strange to her to get so angry that she actually let the foul words slip from her mouth, but her temper was raging in his chest the entire time. It was like feeling every unpleasant emotion all at once.

She had cried and begged when they insisted on taking her hunting to help the burning, but the pain had won out eventually and she had followed them into the woods. It was bad enough that she had a torn up, stained little dress on, but then she had learned of Edward's gift.

_This is awful! This cannot be true…I refuse to think that these..these ruffians are going to make me hunt an innocent animal!_

"You know, you can call me whatever you like, you're still going to have to hunt eventually," he had slipped.

Esme had been nothing short of horrified to learn that a man she barely knew could pry into the deepest corners of her mind. Carlisle had assured her that Edward would not embarrass her, and would try to stay out of her thoughts.

_Oh no! This is awful…first I have to live with the subject of every girlhood fantasy and silly thought and his mind-reading son…._

Her eyes had widened immediately when Edward's glance caught hers, but the young man had said nothing.

She had been confused the entire time that they had been walking through the cloudy Wisconsin forest. When Edward had encouraged her to run, she had felt silly but tried anyway. Her legs had picked up speed so fast that it simply _terrified_ her, and nothing they could say would make her want to try it again. The way the trees came so quickly and menacingly as she ran had scared her half to death. Even though both Edward and Carlisle had assured her that she would do far more damage to the trees than they ever would her, she still refused to try it again.

She did not miss the chagrined looks the two of them exchanged after she refused to run.

"It will only make this process slower," Edward had reminded her. She had bit her lip and looked upon the young boy stubbornly.

_That was terrifying! No!_

Esme's first attempt at hunting had not gone well at all, period. She was afraid to run, terrified to hunt any carnivores, and horrified at the idea of hunting defenseless things like deer and elk. Eventually her burning thirst had made her give in, and she had effortlessly brought the young doe down and sunk her teeth into it.

Esme had drained half of the deer but was distracted by the poor animal's bleats for help and kicking legs as it was drained. Dropping it with a scream, the half-dead animal had stumbled around the clearing, blood spurting from its neck. A beyond repulsed Esme had begun sobbing and howling for someone to do something until Carlisle had run over to her to snap the animal's neck quickly.

This had only ignited a new set of tearless sobs and wails from an already frazzled woman. Carlisle had handed it to her to finish, quite confused about what he had done to upset her.

They had finally convinced her to feed some more, Edward and Carlisle catching several more deer and killing them for her this time. Esme had sniffed back her tears and let her instincts take over, filling herself with the bland animal blood.

They were now walking home, much to Edward's chagrin. He walked first, casting annoyed glances back to the Carlisle, who was hanging back to walk with a sulking Esme.

"I only wanted to end its suffering," Carlisle said softly to her. She sniffed again and wiped her cheeks out of habit, pulling back her dry hand to look at strangely.

"It's…o-okay," she said. "I understand." She attempted to straighten her rumpled, bloodied dress to no avail.

Carlisle looked down at her, obviously upset that his newest family member was having so much trouble.

"While you were changing I took the liberty of ordering some dresses and…other things for you from the Montgomery Ward catalog," Carlisle said. "Edward and I had a horrible time deciding what to get for you, I hope our tastes are not terribly out of fashion," he added with a laugh.

She looked up at him, offering a faint smile. "Thank you," she mumbled, embarrassed to no end. Not only was her girlhood crush the man she had to now live with, but he had also gone through the trouble of ordering clothes for her. However, one look down at the tattered and bloodied mess of a garment she was currently wearing made her stifle any complaints.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "If you don't like them, I can always get you something else. I just know from my own experience buying clothes for Edward and myself that the shops in Ashland aren't known for their…variety."

"No no, that's fine…I…I've never had a store bought dress, I can make my own clothes," she offered meekly.

Carlisle's lips turned upwards slightly at her admission, and he slowly reached over to pat her shoulder.

"I'm happy to be able to give you your first then."

"I don't want to be a burden…" she began. "I don't have much money left on me, but…." She trailed off, thinking back to wonder what money she _did_ have. Her mind went back…. _a fuzzy picture of a cold night, her dropping her bag and stepping out of her shoes to walk across the cold ground to the cliff's edge…_She winced as the memory came back to her.

"I…I don't have any money," she finally concluded, stopping in her tracks. Shame washed over her as more and more details about her last human night came over her.

Carlisle turned, ignoring his son who was still stomping towards the house. "Esme, please do not worry. It was no trouble at all to purchase you the necessities. I ordered you some dresses, some shoes, and some..stockings and…er, some under…under g-garments," the doctor awkwardly admitted. His beautiful golden eyes fell to the forest floor, and Esme bit her lip.

_She wasn't sure what horrified her more; being a newborn vampire, or the doctor of her fantasies ordering her undergarments._

They had slowly approached the old farmhouse, and Edward had already gone inside by the time they made it to the front yard, the mist still rising from the ground in the mid morning light. Esme tried to control her emotions, but her mind had already gotten the best of her and taken her back to a blurry image of holding a small baby boy in a blue blanket.

She stopped in the middle of the yard, suddenly paralyzed with the memory of her deceased baby boy.

Carlisle turned to look at her, his face clearly confused. "Do you…not want the dresses?" he asked dimly.

Esme let another sob emit from her chest, her eyes squeezed shut in agony at the thoughts racing through her newer, sharper mind. It replayed over and over the already blurry memories of her newborn baby and their first few hours together. She could remember them telling her he was dead, and signing the papers to have him buried in the chapel's graveyard. She could remember them handing her his little socks and cap, the light blue color burned into her mind.

Carlisle raced over to catch her before she fell to the muddy ground on her knees, his strong arms easily preventing her from lowering herself. He grasped her arms tightly, his golden eyes full of concern for the lovely woman as she cried.

"M-my baby," she sobbed, her crimson eyes blinking slowly as she tortured herself with images of her lost son.

"Oh, Esme. Forgive me for not talking to you about this sooner," he said, his own dead heart breaking for hers.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she was temporarily distracted from her pain from the doctor's embrace. His inviting, masculine scent was so appealing to her that she had a hard time keeping her thoughts straight as he held her tightly while she cried. The irony of it all was staggering; now that she was finally in the company of the handsome young doctor from her daydreams, but she was trapped in a life or immortality as a monster…_and without her son. _

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

"You did much better today," Carlisle said, settling into the sofa beside her. Esme looked up from her book, smiling weakly at the doctor's attempt at conversation.

She was beyond mortified and did not feel like talking much. Edward was in town for the afternoon, buying a few things for her, and that act alone had embarrassed her. Living with two men for the past few weeks had been a completely mortifying experience all in its own. She was so shamed to be living with two unmarried men in general; just the thought would have made appalled her mother to no end. Esme raised her hand to her face to feel the burn of her blush at the thought, but was once again relieved to remember that she would never blush again.

Carlisle opened his briefcase and began flipping through some paperwork from the hospital, glancing over at her periodically. Esme's eyes flicked back up to the clock on the wall; Edward wouldn't be home for several more hours. She didn't mind being alone with Carlisle; he was good company for the most part, but she still felt as though she shouldn't be alone with the man she had daydreamed about many times as a young girl. It felt scandalous enough to be living under the same roof.

The two had insisted she didn't have the proper ladies' items to use, and she had insisted she was fine. However, once glance at the cabinets in the bathroom had convinced her otherwise. The two men used one bar of soap, period. After Edward had seen her internal horror, he had prodded her to change her mind. She had sheepishly relented, asking for several much-needed items from the general store in town, such as shampoo, some bath oil, and some talc powder.

Esme sighed, turning the page in her novel, trying to calm herself enough to focus. As much as she hated to cause trouble and ask for things, Edward had pointed out that she needn't suffer in silence while she lived there. Both of them bad assured her (Edward much more than Carlisle) that they had plenty of money and a few frivolous items for her comfort wouldn't exactly make a dent in their income.

"I just don't want to spend money…I feel silly for even thinking about needing anything extra," she had finally admitted to Edward.

He had laughed, clearly amused by her concern. "Esme, you must understand. Think about how much money we save by being vampires. We don't buy food, we don't buy livestock, we never need medical attention, and we rarely buy new clothes. The only things we spend money on are books and the car," he admitted. "Carlisle has been a doctor for centuries, and before I was around he spent even less money than he does now."

Even after being reassured, Esme still felt like a burden with the young doctor and his adopted son.

"Edward should be home soon," he said suddenly, seeing her looking at the clock.

Esme looked over at him, and was surprised to see that the doctor's expression was somewhat…_sad?_

"Yes?" she asked, shrugging slightly. An emotion she didn't recognize crossed over his face, and she gave him a concerned look. The doctor had been so kind to her in her first few weeks as a vampire, and she was eternally grateful for his patience and graciousness.

"Carlisle?" she asked when he didn't respond. He looked at her, offering her a tight smile and shifted nervously on the couch.

"I…I. um….I suppose you are looking forward to his return," he said.

"Well, I…suppose. I feel silly that he's bringing me things from the store, but…" she trailed off, still confused.

Carlisle cleared his throat, staring ahead out the living room windows. The fire in the fireplace popped, startling them both slightly. If she had a heart, it would have been pounding by now as she watched the young doctor struggle with something. He offered her another tight smile and looked back down at his book.

This was not the first time they had had a confusing exchange like this. Several times she had caught the doctor hanging around when she spent time with his son. Truthfully, she felt awkward and ashamed at her girlhood crush that she still harbored for the doctor, and felt strange spending time alone with him.

Edward, however awkward his company might have been due to his gift, posed less of a threat. Esme had gotten to know the young boy very well over the past few weeks, and was relieved for his friendship while Carlisle was away at work. Edward had picked up books for her from the library, barely wincing as she requested some rather 'girlish' books as he had called them, and had even begun to teach her piano. Edward was able to hear her lusty, embarrassing thoughts about his father, and had graciously said nothing to the doctor. He also knew that she was terribly lonely and bored being trapped in their home all day, and had made an effort to entertain her. They were becoming friends.

Carlisle was different. He usually tried to make polite conversation with her when he returned from work, but the young doctor was slightly socially backwards when it came to women, or so Esme had guessed. Her heart went out to the sweet man as he fumbled around his words, trying to figure out what to ask her about her day that was spent being politely bored around his home. He also appeared more and more glum when he would return home from work each day to find Esme bonding with his son. She didn't need Edward's mind reading gift to know that he was envious of their time spent together. The more she thought about it, the more confused she was.

_Does Carlisle think I have feelings for Edward? That's so ridiculous I feel silly even thinking it, but still…_

Esme sighed, flipping the un-read page in her novel. Trying to concentrate was no use when Carlisle was sitting beside her. She continued to pretend to read, sheepishly ignoring the doctor's sideways glances. Instead, she busied herself by replacing the male character in one of the few romance novels she could remember reading as a human with Carlisle's handsome face.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

A week later, she was in the living room with Edward, and he was trying to teach her a simple chord progression on the piano. Her sharp vampire mind could easily recall what he had taught her, but she was still having trouble concentrating on the subject at hand. Her eyes kept darting up to look at the clock on the wall, silently subtracting the minutes until Carlisle's return.

"You know, he won't be home for another three hours. You'll still have time to wash your hair first, Esme," Edward said, a wry smile dancing on his lips. He began to plunk a little tune out on the keys, not bothering to make eye contact with her. She shoved him playfully, careful to only use a fraction of her strength.

"Edward," she chided, silently thanking the lord that she could no longer blush.

"Yes, but every time you think that I know that you're blushing on the inside!" he shot back at her. She rolled her ocher eyes at him, shaking off his jibes with a grin.

_He barely talks to me….he always seems so nervous around me…_ she thought sadly, more to herself than to Edward.

Edward coughed awkwardly, grinning sideways at her. She looked at him inquisitively, shifting on the piano bench. "What?" she asked.

Edward guffawed loudly, jumping up from the bench. "Are you really that dim Esme Platt?" he asked, his golden eyes full of mischief. "Do you really not understand? Please tell me you're joking and your mind deceives me," he laughed, his velvety voice playful.

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning even further on the bench to stare wide eyed at him. She giggled nervously, ashamed at her silly behavior. Edward was _taunting her. _

"Edward Cullen!" she snapped indignantly.

Edward's face grew more serious. "Esme, you can't really not know. Carlisle…he…he has never been around a woman. But…he changed you for a reason…and…I…I can't divulge why exactly, but-"

"Edward, please!" she interjected, her eyes pleading with him. He sighed, trying to decide something as he looked at her.

"Esme…Carlisle is a man who has been alone for centuries. He remembered you from Ohio…and…he changed you in hopes that….well…Esme you cannot be so dim as to expect him to want to be alone forever, can you?"

"I…I suppose not. So…he changed me for…himself?" she asked slowly.

Edward sighed, sitting back down at the bench. "Don't get me wrong, Esme, if you did not wish to….return his feelings, Carlisle would still welcome you to the family with open arms. However…I'm not sure how much of this ridiculousness I can take. I have seen your feelings for him, and his for you…and I fear that I will go crazy if I have to live through much more of these silly games you two insist on playing with each other."

Esme had looked at him, her mouth hanging open. It was suddenly so clear.

"Carlisle…changed me….for…."

"Yes Esme…he changed you in hopes that you would be his mate," Edward finally admitted.

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

Later that week, Edward had given Esme a pointed look when he had excused himself to go for a run before the sun came up. Carlisle witnessed their silent exchange, and had instantly grown uncomfortable as Edward darted into the pre-dawn light.

Esme sat in her usual spot on the sofa, Carlisle in a chair beside the fireplace. He usually read, but today she was surprised to see him simply sit and stare into the fire.

"No book today?" she asked quietly. He looked over at her with a weak smile, shaking his head 'no'.

"No, not today…I had a long night at the hospital, I suppose I just need a few minutes to de-stress," he admitted to her.

Esme paused, trying to gather her courage. She blinked her ginger colored eyes and bit her lip as she attempted to work up the words to her question. She was surprised when he spoke first.

"You didn't wish to join Edward on his run?" he asked quietly, not looking up from the fire. She caught herself smiling demurely, ashamed that she had ever been so confused over Carlisle's envy of her relationship with Edward.

"Yes, well…I felt he should have some time away from the adults," she said quietly, her eyes drifting down to her lap. "He must get tired of being the only teenager here."

Carlisle looked up at her, somewhat surprised. Esme continued.

"I'm glad that you have also changed Edward. I have always wanted a younger brother," she said finally, her eyes meeting his. Carlisle's smile began faintly, then grew over his entire face.

"Brother?" he asked slowly.

Esme smiled, her eyes falling back to the book in her lap. "Yes…brother."

Carlisle grinned at her, his prior shame gone from his face at her admission of her relationship with Edward.

The serious tone had just lifted from the room when the sound of tires hitting the gravel drive up to the house distracted them both. Esme immediately clamped her mouth shut, her hand flying up to cover her nose. Carlisle, still caught up in the moment, paused slightly before realizing what was happening.

_Human._

Esme whimpered audibly as she fought to ignore the fire that had ignited in her throat as the human driver came closer and closer to the house.

_Oh my god…that heart…that beating heart….Blood….human blood…_ her mind chanted at her.

Before Carlisle could even think to stand, the small newborn vampire had flashed from the room, leaving the book fluttering in her wake as she darted into the night.

As if on cue, Edward came racing in through the back door, his hair wildly disheveled and his golden eyes full of fear and concern.  
"Esme's dresses that we ordered came in early from Madison…the postman is bringing them out to us," Edward said quickly, reading the mental tone of the approaching driver. His eyes searched the room wildly.

"Esme?"

Carlisle raced to the door, Edward behind him, both frozen in terror as the realization of what was about to happen hit them. Her newborn inability to silence her nature and senses had rendered poor Esme helpless. Her strong legs made her no match for even Edward, who was the fastest vampire Carlisle had ever seen. There would be no time to catch her.

_Esme was going to kill a human._

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed Esme. Like I said, her tale is a sad one, but she does eventually get her happy ending. Stephenie Meyer doesn't ever really talk about Esme's control as a newborn; she mentions Carlisle, Rosalie, Emmett, etc…but never Esme. I just assume that that means she had a few accidents, especially at the start of her new life.

If you enjoyed Esme, remember to review and cast your 'vote' if you would like her story to have a second part. **Remember:** I'm only going to give additional parts to the characters that get the most feedback.

**Please Review!**


	6. Rosalie : 1933

Okay kids, here is Rosalie! This version of her tale is slightly graphic, just to warn you. It does deal with her almost-death, so you have been warned. Remember; this is just the start of Rosalie's story, so please give her time to develop into the Rose we all know and love to hate : )

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

**Rosalie : 1933 **

No one ever thinks they will _ask_ for their own death.

But when there is no more hope left to cling to, no light at the end of the tunnel, no shimmering thought left of escape, people would often be surprised at what they find themselves asking for.

She had _begged_ for her death.

She had always loved her home of Rochester, New York. It was a beautiful part of the city, always teeming with life and activity, and she had lived in the center of that activity since she was a child. It was quaint and peaceful like a country, small town would be, yet was built up enough to have all the modern conveniences of a large town, teeming with life. She had often scoffed at the idea of living in a country town; remote places were not her cup of tea.

Yes, Rochester was a charming, quaint section of the city with its wrought iron fences, blooming flower boxes hanging off every balcony, and picturesque lamp posts that decorated the cobblestone streets.

But on that chilly fall night, Rosalie Hale was not taking the time to think about these certain aspects of the Rochester streets where she now laid.

In fact, she was wishing that the wrought iron fence could be stabbed through her gut to end her suffering. She wished she could rip the flowers out of their pretty window boxes to make them feel her pain. She wanted the lamp posts to shine their light on her drunken murderers and show their faces to the town. She wanted the hard, cobblestone bricks to show the blood that Royce King had beaten out of her, so that everyone she had ever met could know about this catastrophe.

She lay there, listening to his group of friends as they drunkenly stumbled down the street. Their voices echoed off the walls of the adjacent buildings as they turned into an alley to continue their intoxicated escapade elsewhere.

_He just left me like a piece of trash thrown down on the side of the street…he didn't even care,_ she thought bitterly to herself. She coughed as she lay there, sprawled on the corner of the road. Almost instantly she cringed as the rusty, acrid taste of blood saturated her tongue. Trying to roll onto her side wasn't going to be possible; she was certain that her back was broken, or at least _almost _broken. Royce's friends' first attempt at trying to get access up and into her chiffon skirt did not work well. Charles had earned himself a desperate kick to the groin.

She was rewarded for that with three hard men's dress shoes to her back and gut. She had heard several snaps, and she recalled thinking, '_What was that? My back? My spine? My ribs? What's next?'_

No, rolling over was not an option, she thought again. She began to gag as blood continued to fill her mouth, seeping out the sides of her lips and down her perfect, ivory face.

_This was not how it was supposed to end for me…I can't die like this…I was supposed to be a 'lady of the town'…I was supposed to be the queen of that house…I was supposed to have beautiful children…._

One main thought swirled in her mind. _This is not how it is supposed to be for me._

Then, another thought entered her mind. _He left me here to die. Well, he got his wish…I am going to die. _

As soon as that last thought entered her mind, her body shook again with a violent spasm and she heaved up another mouthful of blood. Sputtering and gagging at the taste, she let a fresh set of hot tears roll down her cheeks where the blood was beginning to dry and crack.

She wasn't sure how long she had laid there. In her mind, it already felt like a millennia ago that she had left the home of her childhood friend; Rosalie had gone to admire her new baby. Time had stopped hours before, when she had caught the gleam of something else in Royce's eyes. _Evil._

No, Royce certainly did not have the look of an adoring fiancé as he watched his friends violate her again and again. Once she had been kicked and beaten so badly that moving or fighting back was no longer an option, she was quick to find Royce's gaze. She held it the entire time.

She coughed again, another mouthful of blood and spit falling out of the sides of her mouth. Various cuts and bruises covered her body, but her face had taken the worst beating of them all.

"_No one will ever want you when I'm finished….how does that make you feel to know that I was the first and the last to have you? _ He had hissed in her ear.

Shame had filled her heart, fury filled her mind, and Royce's disgusting excuse for manhood had filled her womanly region as he violated her. His hands were everywhere all at once; just the thought of it churned her stomach as she thought about it.

_I was going to marry him. I was going to let him father my children. I was going to build a life with him…that…that monster._

Hot tears burned against her chapped cheeks; she had been out in the chilly night for several hours now, and it was quite cold in New York already. Her cuts were all lined with dirt and soot from the cobblestones, making them burn and sting worse than they already did.

_I want to die. _

The cold air of the street where she lie seemed to throb with silence; it was an eerie silence. Her head rolled back in defeat onto the hard street, and she heaved another blood spattered cough. Her eyes fell on her hand that was stretched out on the ground beside her. The blood running down the gashes in her arm perfectly matched the red nail polish that graced her fingernails. Just days before, she had gone to the department store makeup counter and requested "bright, blood red nail enamel'. It was irony at its worst.

A sudden gust of wind drew her to the present and suddenly alerted her that she was not alone. She squinted up, her beaten, swollen eyes still blurry. Blinking, more salty tears expelled themselves from her violet blue eyes that felt bloodshot and sore.

A figure stood in the street, about twenty yards away. It was a tall, young man, dressed in a dark trench coat, and he stood out of the light of the lamppost she was laying under.

The hairs on her arm and the back of her neck stood up in fear once again. Her body and mind were screaming at her that something wasn't right with this man. She managed to squeeze her eyes shut and move over onto her side with great effort. Pain shot through her entire body, but she was able to cough up the rest of the blood that was starting to leak down into her already rasping lungs.

She tried to open her eyes further and focus. The black stones that made up the street were streaked with her blood, and several long chunks of her hair were lying on the street beside her, the golden locks now dyed almost red with the liquid.

She gasped and moaned as she attempted to drag herself along the slick surface. She glanced back, wincing in pain. The man was even closer now, and her gut instinct was to get away from him before some other horrible thing happened to her. Her shoes made a sickening slipping sound as they tried in vain to push her broken body along the frozen street. It made an echoing sound against the brick buildings that lined the street, each time making her feel more and more dread.

But it was no use. She could no longer feel her legs, and her lungs weren't giving her enough air to even take a full breath. Her ribs and stomach felt like they were in pieces inside of her, and the only thing keeping them there was her skin. With a loud sob, she rolled over onto her stomach, giving up.

_Let him take me. Maybe at least he'll finish the job and kill me to ease my pain._

The tip of her nose hit the pavement, and she leaned forward on her forehead, letting the tears fall freely as the sobs wracked her beaten body. She could hear the footsteps of the man approaching, and her slender frame began to shake with fear and panic.

There was a pause, and he knelt down beside her. "Rosalie?" he asked, gently pulling a few curls back from her face so see if that was indeed who she was.

Rosalie recognized him as the young doctor that had moved into town a few years before. She couldn't remember his name, but she had always remembered his beautiful, kind face.

He turned her over carefully, her eyes rolling back in her head from the pain of having her back moved again. A pained look crossed his face, and he quickly scooped her up into his arms. She cried in muffled sobs as the doctor carried her. Everything hurt, and everything felt like it was bleeding. They were flying down the streets, her cuts and cigar burns that were still fresh stung as the night air hit them. She continued to cry as she wished again for the still, painless relief of death to find her.

It wouldn't come.

_Why can't I just die? Death should not be like this. Death should be peaceful. _

So, as one can see, she had been begging for her life. Begging for it to end, that is.

And she still was.

When she next was able to recognize her surroundings, she found herself on a cold, hard operating table in a strange house. Her eyes were blurred with panic and tears, and her mind could barely hold a coherent thought she was in so much pain.

She shrieked and moaned and gasped at the sudden fire that now ripped through her veins. It seared through her limbs, her stomach, her lungs, her throat, her mind, her _heart. _So much pain, and all of it unexplained.

"K-kill m-m-me…." She managed to gasp, her lips spewing the words. "P-p-please-e-e-e…ki-ll me."

She cringed as her body shook; the fire was raging so quickly and thoroughly through her veins that it felt like she would shake herself off the table. Not that it would have mattered. It felt like if she did manage to fall off, she would land as a pile of charred ash.

Her eyes fluttered open. She struggled and gritted her teeth to get them to look forward instead of roll back into her head from the fire that now tortured her body. She dug deep and used her steel nerves to force them open far enough to see three figures standing in the room with her, one at the far end and the other two on either side.

Her surroundings were a dimly lit, richly decorated office space in a house she did not recognize. Had the doctor taken her to his home to help her? Hopefully he would just take pity on her and kill her off. But no help came. The fires of hell continued to rage through her body.

"I d-don't…want…t-to live," she finally managed to say. She coughed, choking up another mouthful of blood that trickled down the sides of her face. Her mind could barely form the words she so desperately needed to speak; it was busy trying to contemplate and overcome the blaze inside her body.

A cool, smooth, masculine hand ran down her arm, rubbing it gently. Although the temperature of the skin touching hers was a small fraction of relief, the pressure was not. Even the smallest amount sent her into stitches of gasps and winces. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to still herself from shaking and making more contact with the hard table.

"You're hurting her, Carlisle," a voice said.

"My hand?"

She felt him raise his hand up and away from her body, and she was glad to be away from the pressure of the touch but was already missing the cool temperature.

"Is this hard for you to watch?"

"Yes."

The two men continued to speak quietly, and she listened carefully to hear any clues as to what was happening.

_Where was I? And how did I get here? I think…I think that was the doctor that lives in Rochester with his wife and her brother? Edmund, was it? Why is everything so hard to think about…_ she thought to herself, fighting tooth and nail with her foggy mind.

"Edward," the younger male voice said. "My name is Edward," he repeated.

_Wait, did he…how did he know I was…._

"I can hear your mind, yes," he replied.

_You…you read minds? Read mine. I want to die. Please kill me. I want this to be over. Please…._

"What is it, son?"

"She wants us to kill her," the young voice answered again.

She heard a faint gasp from the female beside her that she had forgotten about.

"We couldn't! It's too late, anyhow…Carlisle?"

There was a pause in the room.

"I could never," the first voice said. "We cannot make any decisions until the change is final. We can't be sure that she wouldn't want to live like we do…"

His voice began to fade as the fire raged on, charring every inch of her. The pounding, frantic rhythm of her heart drowned out every other noise in the room. She gasped again as it throbbed through her arms and legs, her fingers and toes.

She was vaguely aware of the movement around her until she felt the lightest, feather-like touch on her face. The ice cold, velvety feeling swept down her cheekbone and then settled across her forehead. It was followed by the sweetest relief of cold water as it ran down her face and neck, only to be patted dry by the same soft touch.

As the burning continued to sear through her body, the only thing that drew her mind away was the quiet yet melodic humming of the person who owned the hands that were wiping her body clean.

"You're soothing her," the young male voice said again.

"Good. I…I just didn't want her to wake up with...all that covering her. She shouldn't see herself like that for the first time. She was always such a beautiful girl," the female voice replied. Rosalie exhaled choppily, trying to focus on the calming tones of the woman's velvety voice.

The cool water she was rinsing her with felt like heaven in comparison to the flames that licked the insides of her veins and muscles. She fought to hold on…surely this couldn't last much longer?

"Edward, you can go," she said softly as another body entered the room. It was footsteps, heavier but light all the same.

"I just want to check on her…it shouldn't be much longer now," the first male voice replied, coming closer to the table where she lay.

There was silence in the room as the three people watched and waited. Rosalie resented that they had done this to her, this cruel, torturous experiment. And now they just watched as she suffered.

"She's already mad. We're going to have hell to deal with when it's over," the younger male said.

"Is she conscious?"

"Barely. She's already fuming with us. I still cannot believe…Rosalie Hale?" he muttered incredulously.

She could feel a small gust of wind as Carlisle shook his head furiously to stop him from talking.

_What does he mean? 'Rosalie Hale'? Of course, that's my name! Who does that haughty Cullen kid think he is? I've never been so insulted…no one has ever said my name like that…he sounded…disgusted…_ her mind raced and fought to stay with it, but the mind-numbing pain was making it hard to focus or form coherent thoughts.

"She is a complete twit Carlisle! Up to no good!" she heard Edward huff.

"Edward, you don't know that for sure," Carlisle said softly.

"She may just appear that way to those who don't know her very well," the woman's voice echoed him.

"Rosalie Hale is the most shallow little ninny I've ever laid eyes on…The classes I had with her were insufferable. All the other students ever talked about was her hair or her clothes!" Edward added gruffly.

Rosalie could hear the woman sigh in frustration.

"Edward, you must calm yourself. We will need all the help we can get while she is new at all of this. You cannot continue to insult her," the woman said.

"She's right, Edward," Carlisle added. "You cannot judge a book by its cover son, you know that as well as I do. There might be more to this girl than you…" he trailed off and he could hear a vicious grunt of anger coming from Edward.

"You have got to be joking Carlisle!" he hollered. "The two of us together? I'd rather starve!"

"Edward…"

"You don't know what she'll be like as one of us," the woman interjected. "You cannot know what the personality of….what she'll be like. She could be different."

"If he plans to put the two of us together like some sick little matchmaker…I swear I'll leave for good this time," he threatened. The woman sucked in a breath and she could hear the young doctor sigh in frustration.

"Edward…it was just a shot in the dark. I had to try to help her…I couldn't leave her to just die there."

"I wish you'd let me handle Royce and his gang…You know this town will never make them take the rap for this!" Edward shouted. "It's disgusting….it's the least you can do!"

"We can't play God. I won't. You know my views on this subject."

"You think a smooth cat like Royce King will be linked to this? To her? Dream on, Carlisle. He'll get away with it."

Rosalie seethed in her burning body as the three people discussed her fiancé and his gang of hooligans. She wasn't' sure what displeased her more: the pain shooting through her body or the way Edward had spoken so dismissively about her.

"How is she doing, son?" Carlisle asked, setting his cool hand on her forehead.

She heard Edward grunt in distaste at the question. "She's already got her fists swinging, that's for sure," Edward mumbled.

Had Rosalie been able to move, she would have taken this opportunity to slap him promptly across the face and flounce from the room.

Edward snorted as he listened to the vindictive flavor of her thoughts. "Same here, doll," he said, leaning forward to speak in her ear.

Rosalie continued to listen to the three of them discuss her. Edward was clearly not her biggest fan. Not that she cared much; they had shared several classes together in school, but he had never shown an interest in him, therefore she had none for him. She preferred to be chased by the boys that she walked the halls with, or pranced, rather. It was unheard of for Rosalie Hale to even _pretend_ to notice another boy unless he came to call on her properly first. Of course, he had to be the r_ight_ boy for that to happen.

Edward had never paid her any attention when he first arrived in Rochester. It never particularly bothered her though, because he didn't really pay much attention to _anyone_, male or female. He mostly kept to himself and his books. They had gone to school together for several years now and had never bothered to converse with each other. She had seen the family out on occasion. They frequented the same high end department stores and community functions; Carlisle and his wife…_what was her name? Enid? Esther? _Her mind struggled to remember.

"Esme," Edward sneered in her ear, huffing in disbelief.

"What?" the woman's voice asked clearly confused. "What is she saying?"

She felt the floorboards creak as Edward began to pace in the room. "She's trying to think of what your name was. She's starting to remember seeing us around town as a family…I had several classes with her," he added, his voice softer.

"Edward…please try to be kind to her when this is all over. It's all very new and scary," the woman, Esme, said quietly, her voice just above a whisper.

Rosalie listened to the some more as they discussed several things she didn't understand about newborns and hunting. She floated in and out as her mind fought and struggled against the burning sensation that wracked her entire body. Her desire to die had grown vigorously, yet even the mind-reading boy would not comply. Her frustration and irritation grew along with her anger, pain, and fury as she lay on the table, burning.

Through the flames, she was dimly aware of Edward and Carlisle as they came and went as the hours passed. The woman, the doctor's wife, Esme, was the only one who sat with her the entire time, leaving only once with a strange excuse to Rosalie's ears.

"You must go, dear," the young doctor gently chided her on the dawn of the third day.

Rosalie could feel the air move around her as Esme's cool palms stroked her burning face. "I can't leave her...what if she is afraid? I don't want her to feel alone…"

"Esme, Edward has already scouted something out for you. You need to leave before it gets light out. It will still be a few hours; you won't miss anything, I promise," Carlisle said softly as Esme stood to leave.

"But-"

"Esme, you need to hunt."

"Yes, I do. I wouldn't want her to see me with black eyes and dark circles under them for the first time!" Esme laughed, leaving the room.

_Hunt? Why on earth would the doctor's wife need to hunt? Where is she going? Why does she need to be back before it gets light out?_ Rosalie wondered.

She didn't have a lot of time to think after that. The pain roaring through her veins was being sucked out of her limbs slowly only to multiply and fester in her chest. It seared through every artery and capillary, leaving nothing pure or undamaged. Every vein in her chest boiled and flickered with a white-hot pain that made her entire body eventually start to rise and fall off the table in time with her racing heart.

"My…heart-t….explode-e…" she gasped, her eyes opening slightly, only to roll back into her head as the pain seemed to take off even more.

Carlisle laid a cool palm on her chest, hoping to help cool her, but the added pressure only made her heart sizzle with heat and inferno.

Hours passed.

The blaze continued to shoot higher and higher into her chest until her screams began. She listened to herself howl, cry, and beg for it to be over. It was almost like she was trapped in a metal box full of flames and ash, just waiting to melt into oblivion. How much more could she take? She felt like she was surely going mad, but there was nowhere to go that wasn't engulfed in the flames that surrounded her. Her eyelids could only see red and orange combustion; her ears could hear the crackling of fires; her hands felt singed like cinders. There was no escape as she screamed and begged for death to find her.

"Ki-ll…me-e.." she panted, opening her eyes slightly. She could see the heart-shaped face of the doctor's wife as she jumped back slightly in surprise.

"You've forgotten what the eyes look like, haven't you?" Edward asked slyly. She saw Esme nod, and the woman met her eyes once again with a look of wonder and horror.

Rosalie's body slammed down onto the table as another wave of fire attacked her heart, crashing against it as it burned. It seemed to swallow her whole as her hysterical screams and throbbing heart continued.

Again her body hit the steel table, and she could feel dents in the surface where her body hit against it violently. She grunted and bawled, screaming for death in her mind to the mind-reading boy, but he did nothing but stare at her as she writhed on the table.

"Almost, sweetheart…we're right here," Esme whispered, her surprisingly strong arms holding her against the table to keep her from falling.

Rosalie let another scream leave her lips as the roaring pain continued to crash against her heart. It beat wildly, threatening to jump out of her chest. Faster and faster it jumped, pummeling until suddenly….it beat no more.

There was silence in the room.

Rosalie opened her eyes.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Her irritation had only fueled in the few hours she had been awake. When she had finally risen from the operating table with a high-pitched hiss, Esme had jumped to stand behind Carlisle's tall frame, and Edward had remained leaning against a china cabinet in the corner, his arms crossed arrogantly.

However, his mind-reading gift almost did not save him from the chair that Rosalie had hurled at him seconds later when her eyes fell upon him, recognizing him immediately. The chair had flown through the air with the speed of a bullet, connecting with the antique china cabinet with a loud crash, just barely grazing Edward's side. She had clamped her hand over her mouth when she saw how the wood splintered and shattered around his frame, not even piercing his granite skin. He had smirked at her triumphantly before dashing to the other side of the room. When a growl escaped her lips, she thoroughly realized that something was amiss.

Carlisle and Esme had explained what she was to her in soft tones and gentle voices, her eyes growing wider and wider with each word uttered. She barely had time to be thankful that the burning in her limbs had ceased before she had been stricken with the horrid news of what she had been turned into.

"Why?" she choked, looking up at the doctor from her knees. "Why didn't you just leave me there to die? Instead you bring me here where you all hate me and mock my very presence?"

Carlisle had a look of pain in his eyes, and it was mirrored more so in Esme's own golden orbs. The calm woman had tried to reason with her and explain why everything was so foreign and strange, but Rosalie could only focus on one thing, which was what she had become: a vampire.

Carlisle moved to stand in front of his petite wife, a gesture that Rosalie's instincts clearly recognized as protective behavior.

_He's protecting her from…from..me! He thinks I'm going to hurt his kind wife! She was the one who..who helped me while I burned…I am a monster. I'm a horrible, dangerous, disgusting monster! I must look awful. No longer am I Rosalie Hale…I've been turned into a demon._

"I…I can't believe you thought I would rather be a monster than be dead!" she had shrieked, earning a snicker from the corner where Edward stood.

"Leave it to her to think she looks like a monster instead of a model," he jeered at her with a smirk.

Another growl that escaped her mouth shocked her, but not enough to stop her from hurling the first thing her fists could find at his head. He had caught the wrought iron Tiffany lamp before it crashed into the wall, nearly cackling with delight at the rise he was getting from her.

"I hate you," she spat, glowering at him. "You barely know me and already you hate me!"

Edward's face grew serious and he turned to face her. "I do not need to talk to you to already know what you are like. I have listened to your petty thoughts and selfish manner for years now," he replied, tapping his temple.

It was then that Rosalie thought back to what Edward had told her while she burned; he could _hear _her thoughts. Rosalie was instantly horrified at the idea.

She shrieked shrilly in sheer agitation and bolted from the room, her new speed only fueling her anger about what she had become. Throwing open the door, she realized that they lived in a large, modern house that sat on the outskirts of town, and she had no idea where she was. An onslaught of scents and a new, enhanced vision hit her suddenly, and she paused for a moment in surprise before stepping out onto the porch.

_No…this can't be true. I WILL NOT be a horrible, heartless demon. I refuse. That is not who I am! _Her thoughts took a determined and slightly desperate tone as she fought her instincts to go back into the house and clasp her hands around the boy's snarky throat.

_I just need to get out of here…I need to get away._

Edward appeared behind her, his ochre eyes gleaming. "Rosalie, don't be rash….You can't leave the house – you very well might hurt someone," he warned her.

"What on earth would I hurt someone? I'm not a monster like you!" she growled, her voice determined.

He stepped closer to her, his eyes narrowing. "You go to town now, and I can tell you that you will drain and murder at least ten people before you even begin to realize what you're doing. Do you still want to go now?"

Clamping hand over her mouth, she tried to imagine acting as the vampires in the movie pictures did. Biting at the throats of the innocents, infecting them with hellish spirits and demons, draining them of their life. She glared at him evilly, all of the hate she had harbored for him during her change boiling to the surface.

_But what if what he says is true? I can't go into Rochester, Rosalie Hale…and kill people. What if he's right?"_

"It is true, I am right," Edward echoed her thoughts.

Her shoulders sunk for a moment as she realized she didn't really want to hurt anyone with her newfound strength and anger. Instead, she glanced at him again, hoping that her speed would be able to put her one step ahead of his gift.

_I hate him, I hate this house, I hate this…I hate..I hate…everything. I'll show them…_

She was so consumed with rage and complete abandonment for behaving normally that she was surprised when her vision didn't blur and her hands didn't shake. Carlisle and Esme stood in the doorway, watching with wide eyes as Rosalie moved towards them.

"She won't hurt you," She heard Edward softly say to them. The two people standing in front of her looked horrified at her behavior, but nothing was going to phase her now.

_She didn't care._

_Well, you're right about one thing. I will not hurt people. But that leaves a lot of room for destruction, _she thought.

Racing back into the house with a hiss, she discovered that her mind instantly worked with her newer, more sensitive nose to take her where she wanted to go; her feet moved faster, her mind moved faster, and everything was easier.

_She didn't care. _

Rosalie quickly found the room where she had been turned: Carlisle's office. With a grunt, she quickly grabbed the wooden table with the dented metal surface on top of it, and heaved it through the large glass windows that lined the back of the room. The glass shattered as the wood hit it, shards flying everywhere.

_She didn't care._

Nothing mattered now but succeeding in showing the family how disgusted she was. If she was going to be a monster, then she was going to act like one.

She clawed one of the oil lamps that was attached to the wall, ripping it clean off. Spying a lighter on the doctor's desk, she snatched that as well while the other three vampires watched her with shock on their faces.

Edward held out his hand in front of Carlisle and Esme, his voice quiet. "Let her," he murmured, and the three watched as she sailed through the jagged edges of what was left of the window, landing with a soft thud outside in the side yard where the remains of Carlisle's home operating table sat in several pieces. Her ruby eyes glittered as she doused the chunks of serrated wood with oil from the lamp, pausing only to click on the lighter.

The pile of wood roared to life, the fire lighting up as the oil reacted with that one small flame. The three bewildered family members stood on the inside, looking at her incredulously through the broken window as she watched the fire burn.

Watching the flames only fueled the fury she felt. Looking to her side, she spied the forest line, her eyes falling on one thing: _freedom_.

With a grunt and a puff of dust, she began to run. Nothing mattered as she moved her legs faster and faster until they were churning beneath her. She flew through the forest, so infuriated she could barely recognize her new, amazing velocity.

The trees flew by as she moved lithely though the forest, the morning mists still rising in puffs from the ground where she ran.

Her thoughts about Edward's cruel words towards her echoed in her perfect mind, which could recall every word uttered during the burning change she had just endured.

_How could he be so malicious? He didn't even know her. Not that it mattered – nothing mattered now, frankly._

She ran up to a rock face that overlooked a huge body of water, and her eyes stretched to see for miles. She slowed her pace eventually, realizing that she could hear the soft patter of footsteps behind her. She could recognize the scent of the young doctor, and she turned toward the water to pout.

"Rosalie?" he asked, gliding to a halt behind her. He cautiously walked up behind her, stopping to stand beside her at the edge of the cliff.

They were silent for a moment as she fumed internally. "Can you read my mind too?" she finally huffed, turning to look at him. She gasped suddenly, shocked at how much clearer she could see his handsome face. He smiled bashfully at her, his golden eyes darting back to look at the water.

"No, that's just Edward, I'm afraid," he admitted.

She felt like a fool, throwing a fit and letting her temper get the best of her. "I'm sorry about your table," she said slowly.

The young doctor looked at her sheepishly, shrugging. "It's no matter…I understand."

She nodded, lowering her eyes in shame. She had always had a bit of a temper, but her mother had taught her early on that a real lady should never let it show.

"Rosalie…I must apologize. I never meant to upset you by changing you into..." he trailed off, looking at her apologetically.

"A _vampire_," she finished haughtily. She ran her tongue over her new, sharp teeth, checking for fangs.

_At least I don't have daggers sticking out of my gums…_she thought with a smirk.

"I do not wish for you to be unhappy, Rosalie. I wanted to give you a chance…a second chance at life. When I found you….I couldn't bear to not help you."

Rosalie looked at him, blinking her large eyes at the soft-spoken doctor. "Did you ever think that I would rather die than become a demon?" she asked. "Did you stop to think that I would rather die than live with people who don't even want me?"

He shook his head, looking ruefully at the ground. "No, I did not. I did not mean to insult you, either. Please don't take Edward seriously…he is still struggling with this life as well, I'm afraid."

Rosalie felt bad for emotionally jabbing the kind doctor, but her fury prevented her from apologizing. She looked back out at the water.

"Where are we?"

"You ran all the way to Lake Ontario," he said. "You are very fast."

"I noticed," she said shortly, her eyes falling to her feet. She gasped in surprise when she realized she wasn't wearing any shoes, and her skirt was tattered and stained with dried blood. Her silk blouse was hanging off her slim body in pieces, her undergarments peeking through the thin material.

_Figures,_ she thought bitterly.

He was silent for a moment until he saw her hand go to her throat. "Of course," he began. "I apologize again, you must be thirsty. Come," he said. She had looked at him, her eyes full of bewilderment, but once she acknowledged the burn in her throat she had no choice.

The dull pain that lingered there had been the least of her worries when she had first woken up, but now it had moved to the forefront of her sharp mind. The idea of hunting had been a horrid one when first presented to her; never had such an unladylike and crude task been presented to her. She had scoffed at the idea when Carlisle explained their diet to her.

She had followed him regardless into the woods, perching herself easily in a tree with the doctor while they waited.

"You'll know what to do…just wait," he had said to her quietly. She nodded, suddenly very interested in putting out the fire that was now burning in her throat as she sat in the fir tree. Looking out from the branches, she turned up her nose at the dismal, cloudy New York day. The fog and clouds rolling south off of Lake Ontario usually provided the town of Rochester with a similar type of weather. Most days she couldn't be bothered with the weather; today, she hated it.

She had been busy scoffing at the weather and the dismal atmosphere until a tantalizing scent crossed her nose. Jumping down, she had effortlessly tackled the bobcat, startling herself when she pushed the drained carcass away from her with a flourish. She tossed her blonde hair behind her shoulder, sickened at the blood she had to wipe from her hands.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

"You did very well back there," Carlisle offered her a weak compliment.

Rosalie pressed her lips together, still amused with the taste of the blood on her tongue.

"Thanks…I suppose."

"Hunting didn't come very easily to Esme…I'm afraid she was a bit put off by it at first."

Rosalie turned to look at him as she walked. "I didn't say I liked it," she snapped.

She walked faster then, lengthening the distance between them.

Carlisle was silent for a moment, then tried his best to converse with her again.

"Rosalie, I hope you know that we want you to stay with us. I…I saw that your life was over and I couldn't bear to see you die that way."

"And now I'll never die at all."

"No…but that doesn't have to be a negative thing, Rosalie."

"According to you."

"Rosalie…"

"What if it was my time? What if I wanted to die?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she felt guilty.

"I wish I could help you, Rosalie. I hate to see you so sad and know that it was my doing that made you this way. Will you ever forgive me?" Carlisle finally asked as they walked back towards the house.

He was nearly sickened himself by her silence as they walked through the woods. She thought for a few moments before turning to look at the handsome doctor in the pale morning light of the forest. Her anger seemed to seethe to the surface and she couldn't help herself. If she was suffering, then they would too.

"You should have seen me lying on the ground about to die and finished the job," she sneered, turning around. She began to easily follow her own scent back towards the house.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Eventually, Carlisle had coaxed her back to the house where Esme led her upstairs to the guest room of their large home.

"This room is mine?" Rosalie breathed, taking in the large, spacious room that Esme had taken her to.

It stretched along the front of the upstairs, with large windows and a balcony that hung over the front porch. The morning light shone through, casting a pretty glow on the deep red walls. The wooden floors were decorated with several tasteful Oriental rugs that complimented the soft beige bed linens. The windows were thrown open, making the matching cream colored curtains flutter in the breeze. Their lacy tips softly brushed the mahogany floors. A cherry dresser set sat to one side, and on the other side of the room there was a matching vanity.

"It's so lovely," she said, looking around her plush surroundings.

"I'm so happy to know that, dear," Esme said, touching Rosalie's arm softly. She jumped in surprise, her eyes flying around the room in a startled manner. Esme pulled her hand away quickly with a gasp, jumping back to give the newborn vampire some space.

"I'm okay," Rosalie assured her. _The whole vampire thing is going to take some getting used to. _

Her eyes darted around the room, suddenly freezing when she saw a foreign looking figure standing in the mirror.

"What's the matter?" Esme asked suddenly, darting over to stand next to her as she stared. Rosalie reached up, touching her own face as if to make sure that what she saw in the mirror was really her.

It was her, and she was…

She was _stunning._

She raced over to the vanity, gripping the sides of the large oval mirror as she gaped, unblinking, at the creature that had replaced her.

"Gentle, Rose," Esme reminded her, patting her hands. Rosalie smiled, faintly, loosening her grip and giving her a small smile. She sat down on the stool and returned her enamored gaze to examine herself further.

"I look so…different," she mumbled, running a hand over her new face.

"It's what the venom does," Esme said softly, glancing at her own reflection in the large mirror. "It's to make us…more attractive, I suppose…to lure humans to us," she said.

Rosalie looked up at her in shock, but nodded once she understood. As a human, she could recall being strangely drawn to the beautiful family when she saw them out around town. And now, she would match them.

Her long, blonde hair had grown several inches and thickened considerably, the tones of blonde now more dimensional and shiny. Tiny, lighter blonde wisps framed her perfectly chiseled faced, as if to frame it like a trophy. The creamy tone of her now flawless skin was set off beautifully by a pair of lovely, luscious red lips that were even shapelier than she remembered. Her pretty new face was highlighted by slightly higher cheek bones, a charming yet tiny cleft in her chin, and a slightly smaller nose. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows were set on her face in ideal proportion to her long eyelashes and….her eyes.

"How long?" she asked, looking at Esme in the mirror. Esme's face softened. "A few months, then they will turn golden, like mine," she replied.

Rosalie nodded. She didn't mind the eyes as much as she should; for once, she wanted to be feared a little in her new state. She had never been one to turn away from any position or opportunity to gain power. As she gazed at herself, a few cloudy memories started to slowly creep back into her mind.

_Walking home from her friend's house in the chilly night air…Drunk Royce and his friends finding her…raping her…beating her….burning her with their cigars as she screamed and begged for her life…_

"Is everything alright dear?" Esme asked, resting a delicate hand on her shoulder.

Rosalie looked at her for a moment, a plan coming together in her mind. She smiled innocently at the young woman, charming her with her dazzling new smile. "Of course," she answered, letting her gaze return to the girl in the mirror.

"Everything is just fine."

To her relief, Esme had informed her that Edward had gone to his college classes for the afternoon. The two had spent most of the afternoon on Rosalie's new bed, Esme answering her questions about their lifestyle and family. She was shocked that they had all lead day to day lives with no suspicions from others.

"Edward goes out in town a lot, and he likes to listen for signs of any brewing trouble," Esme said.

"He really goes to college?" she asked in amazement.

Esme nodded, smiling as Carlisle entered the living room with them. "Yes, Edward has managed to control his thirst enough that he is able to live quite normally," Carlisle said, walking up to the two of them.

"Normally?" she asked quizzically, her eyes moving between the two striking vampires between her. Esme's pale, heart shaped face was framed by a waterfall of large, caramel colored curls. Her golden eyes were quite strange at first glance, but the glittering smile she often offered with them made them appear more natural. Carlisle stood tall and lean, his own ivory face complimented by golden hair and matching eyes, set into his perfectly chiseled face.

_I plan to live quite 'normally' once I get this all sorted out. I will have my big New York house and maybe even go to college like Edward…this is only a temporary setback...just wait until mother learns I'm alive! _Rosalie thought, admiring the grand living room that Esme had tastefully decorated.

Edward's voice cut through her thoughts as he walked back into the house after returning from classes.

"You won't be able to tell your mother, I'm afraid," he muttered, setting his books down on the hallway table. He shuffled into the room where they stood, dipping his head slightly.

Rosalie turned to look at him, frowning. "I'm sorry?" she asked, viciousness seeping into her voice. "What was that you said?"

"You won't be able to tell your mother. You won't be able to go back to her, Rosalie," he said again. Rosalie looked at him, her ruby eyes full of horror. She whipped her head around to stare at Carlisle.

"I can't go home? I can't ever see my family again?" she shrieked.

Carlisle looked at her sadly, his gold eyes full of remorse. "Yes, Rosalie, I'm afraid he's right. You can't go home – they would know something is different. They would also be too…Tempting… right now," he finished, his eyes falling to the floor.

"Tempting?" she said, her voice quivering with rage. "Tempting? You think I would _eat_ my own parents?!" she yelled, her fists balling up. She was bombarded with blurry but memorable visions of her friend and her husband and child, all waving goodbye to her as she left on that fateful night.

"You won't be able to be around humans for awhile…and you especially couldn't marry one," he added quietly, seeing her thoughts full of envy for her friend that was a new mother and her loving husband.

"You stay out of my head!" she screeched. She shook with anger as she turned towards the door.

"I refuse to live here in this house, trapped like an animal," she seethed, throwing the door open. It fell from its hinges several moments later, collapsing to the ground with a crash. Esme winced as the glass window in it shattered, sending shards scattering across the floor.

She turned on the porch to look at the three of them, who were once again in awe of her temper. "I will not live here in the sticks and let my life slip away! I've worked too hard to get where I am today and I won't be giving it up!" She stomped off the porch, running down the steps and into the afternoon sunlight.

"I am Rosalie Hale and I –"she stopped short with a horrified gasp that came out more like another shriek. Doubling over, she grabbed her own hand with her other and stared at it in horror, disgust filling her.

Rainbows bounced off of her faceted skin - against the shiny car parked in the driveway and the many windows of the house. She glowed and shimmered like a diamond.

"I…I…oh my…" she fell to her knees, still grasping her hand tightly as she grew more and more repulsed by herself. She curled onto the gravel driveway, sobbing tearlessly as the three vampires watched her with somber, frozen faces.

Glancing at the side of Carlisle's shiny black car, she erupted in a new bout of loud screeches and sobs as she caught another glimpse of herself in the metallic parts.

"I'm…I'm…a monster," she gasped, throwing her hands down in the dirt. Grasping the pebbles, she crushed them to sand in her stony hands as she cried.

Now she realized it, truly. She had become a horrible, frightening monster that could never, ever lead the life she had always dreamed of. Her dreams had been hopelessly shattered with one little bite.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Several days had passed, and she had slipped further and further into her depression until suddenly an idea came to her. If she couldn't live the way she wanted, then there were five other people on the earth that shouldn't be able to either.

Her captors had been on the brim of her thoughts ever since she was turned, but she tried to suppress them. Now, however, her mind sizzled with anger and fury as images of Royce and his friends bubbled to the surface, making her fists rake across the bedspread of which she rested upon. A low growl resonated in her throat, the rumbling startling her as she formulated her plan.

If she couldn't have the world, then certainly he couldn't either. It would be a crime to let him walk free. In her mind, she saw him giving the same fate to another girl, somewhere else, someone just as helpless as her. No, that simply would not do.

She began to plot as she walked out of her bedroom and down the steps. Peering out the front window towards town, she made up her mind.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

The late fall weeks had turned into winter, and soon Rosalie was watching Esme balance on the top ledge of a ladder as she hung winter greenery from the tall banisters.

"Is this even, dear?" She called over her shoulder. Rosalie glanced up from her French book and let her crimson eyes measure the angles of the hanging boughs of decoration.

"Yes, that's perfect," Rosalie answered, rolling her ruby eyes as Esme turned back around. Edward glared at her from his position at the living room piano, the familiar chords of Beethoven floating through the parlor where the three of them sat, trying to pass the day by. Rosalie had learned quickly that sunny days were now regarded as a nuisance in the vampire world.

Carlisle had been trapped at work all morning due to the sunlight, not able to leave and walk the streets home until evening. He had worked late during his usual night shift only to find the sun peeking out of the clouds when he was ready to leave. Esme had to put her shopping trip for new clothes for Rosalie on hold as well due to the sun. Edward was also stuck inside and unable to go to his university classes, so he had been moping around all morning trying to occupy his time.

Basically, they were all inconvenienced by this cold, albeit sunny, afternoon.

He didn't' even stop playing to glower at her. "I am not moping," he growled, his granite fingers dancing over the keys.

"I've never seen you _not _mope," she growled back, her delicate fingers turning the page of her book. She had been determined to keep up with her studies as the weeks slowly went by, and was slightly happy that her new mind made it shockingly easy for her to do so.

Carlisle had gently explained to her that once her first year was over, they would move to a new town where she would not be recognized and she would be able to finish high school and even attend college if she wished. That had been one of the few things that had helped her though these last lonely, long months.

Her severe stubbornness had not left her in this new life. She had used her iron will and pride to perfect the art of hunting animals and draining them neatly, never so much as coming close to murdering any humans. Several times she had been exposed to their tantalizing scent: one, a stray hiker too close to the house, another, the mailman delivering a parcel that Esme had forgotten to pick up at the post office. On both occasions, Rosalie had allowed herself to be firmly held down by Edward and Carlisle, her breath held tight in her lungs and her brain flailing wildly to regain control of herself.

To say that she was bound and determined to return to as much of a normal life as she could was an understatement. She longed to go to school again…to shop…to parade around town in fancy dresses, catching the eyes of the boys…

_They wouldn't even stand a chance against me now! I can hardly believe how wonderful the venom change made me look…if only they could bottle that stuff up…_she thought to herself with a playful smirk.

Edward rolled his golden eyes at her from his piano, his fingers plunking down on the keys even harder as he grew more and more irritated with her thoughts.

She shook her head and chided him mentally. _If you don't like it, then what in the dickens are you doing in my head?_

He looked at her sideways from the piano, his lip rising in a sneer. "I've tried. Believe me, Rose, I've tried," he said.

"Edward," Esme warned him, returning to the room with another armful of Christmassy pine boughs.

"Sorry, Mom," he said softly, turning back to his music. He switched to another piece as they both watched Esme effortlessly scale the ladder and continue her holiday work.

Rosalie's mind traveled back in time to her blurry human memories of the Christmas season at her lovely house. Her mother would spend the days hanging wreaths, trimming the large pine tree in the front room, and decorating the entire home floor to ceiling in Christmas ornaments and trinkets.

Rosalie smiled as she remembered their tastefully decorated tree, shining in the front window with store bought ornaments and garlands. Their cook would bake sugar cookies and gingerbread men for her younger brothers, and on Christmas day they would all exchange extravagant gifts. A new tennis bracelet for her mother, an imported Spanish pipe for her father, a new fur muff for Rosalie, new bicycles for her brothers…there was no limit for the Hale family, especially on Christmas.

She sighed heavily, turning the unread page as she stared as the useless fire in the fireplace. The only reason they kept the house heated was to keep the water and gas pipes from freezing and bursting in the cold.

The flames danced and crackled in the brick fireplace, the wood re-adjusting as it burned away. She winced slightly, thinking of heat that had burned her not long ago as she was changed. Rosalie watched as Esme began to add red velvet ribbons to the places where the boughs of pine were gathered, carefully arranging them just so.

_I won't see my family for Christmas this year…or ever again for that matter. No more holidays at the Hale household. Do they miss me? Are they still celebrating the holidays with a dead daughter on their minds? Surely not…._

She drifted in and out of her thoughts, wincing as she remembered a few more blurry memories from holidays past. She would never get to see another lovely Christmas in her large, lavish home. No, never again, thanks to Royce and his gang. Her blood boiled and her eyes narrowed as she thought of his name. It was burned into her mind, singed into the tissue against her will.

_I hate him…that vile…evil…rotten man. He doesn't deserve to live…._she thought. She straightened up and continued to stare at the fire in the hearth as her plan came to the front of her mind.

_No, he certainly would not live to see another Holiday, especially not if she couldn't as well. He would not live to see much more, period. She had bided her time and waited until she was sure her memory was in the back of his mind, waiting to pounce and spring forward to bring him death…._

The piano music stopped abruptly.

Rosalie's eyes flew up in horror to meet Edward's. He looked at her incredulously, frozen with his hands above the ivory keys. She panicked. He had heard her plans; he knew what she was going to do.

"Edward?" Esme called, looking down from her perch on the ladder. "Edward, what is it?" she asked.

Edward coughed suddenly, laying his hands on the keys quickly. "Nothing, Esme. Rosalie won't shut up in her mind about how thirsty she is, that's all."

Esme looked at Rosalie, giving her a faint smile. "You two should go hunting, then. Just stay away from any people and you'll be fine dear," Esme said with a smile.

Rosalie and Edward needed no more encouragement. They both jumped up, bolting from the yard. Rosalie ran for several miles until she was out of Esme's earshot and glided to a halt. Edward stopped a few feet from her, his face considerably calmer.

_I'm not going to drain them, Edward. So before you get all worked up in a hussy, don't worry about it. This is __**my **__revenge and __**my **__plan and I won't let you stop me from killing that monster and his gang of –_

"Of course I won't stop you," Edward replied, running a hand through his penny-colored hair with a smirk. He kicked a rock with his toe, sending it flying through the air and out of sight. Rosalie gave him a relieved but confused glance.

She looked at him inquisitively, turning her head. "Why would you say that? You hate me. I would think you would jump at any chance to tarnish me in Carlisle's eyes. "

_I'll probably go to hell for doing this…but I can't let them live, Edward, _she added in her head. He looked her, his expression softening.

"We live forever, Rose," he said finally. "You won't be going to hell. We're already dammed. Besides…I fought the urge to kill them all myself when Carlisle brought you here."

"You did?" she asked, clearly surprised. He nodded, his locks swaying slightly on his head. He looked out at the forest thoughtfully, pausing before he spoke.

"I did. I never told you this but…I spent some time away from Esme and Carlisle, shortly after they were married. You see…having a gift like mine…well…it's hard to let some people live sometimes. I see the vile, evil thoughts they have, the plans they make, and the people they intend to hurt. So I left Carlisle, knowing he would never approve. I couldn't live with the weight of knowing all of that and not doing a damn thing about. So I left…and….sadly, I played God for awhile, deciding for those who crossed my path. I killed many bad people, Rosalie," he finished, looking back at her.

She stared back at him with her crimson eyes. "But…then why did you come back?"

Edward shrugged nonchalantly, looking back outside at the setting sun. "I decided that I believed what Carlisle did – that it wasn't my place. These people were humans, and we both believe that they will all be judged by God when they leave this earth. I wanted to leave it to Him to decide."

Rosalie let a small growl of frustration slip. He whipped his head around to look at her where she stood, her lip turned upward into a snarl.

"What's the meaning of telling me this, Edward?" she sneered.

He looked at her for a long moment, and then turned to face her. "I'm saying that if you want to do what you plan to do, I won't protest. I won't judge you. But know this: You have to live with their blood, so to speak, on your hands for the rest of eternity. You can always come back and live like we do, but that blood will never fully disappear from your mind – ever. Those are deaths that will be because of you, and no one else. If you can live with that, then…" he trailed off, turning back around.

Rosalie relaxed slightly, her shoulders hunching over as she retreated into deep thought.

"They will be five faces that will haunt you forever," he added softly.

"I can look in my mind's eye and see the face of every human I've ever killed and it's…it's….it can be paralyzing."

She growled, tossing her blonde hair behind her shoulder. "Five faces? Five faces?" she asked him incredulously. He stared at her blankly as she huffed. "If I could get their faces printed up on five diamond rings," she sneered. "I would gladly wear them on my fingers every day for the rest of time just so that I could look at them and know that I was the one who twisted their miserable necks shut," she finished with a growl.

Edward lowered his head, and said nothing else. They ran back to the house that evening, and as promised, Edward didn't say a word.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

She stole out of the house, careful to be as quiet as could be, which wasn't so difficult with her new vampiric gracefulness.

Edward was playing his piano, Esme was taking a bath, and Carlisle was at work. She jumped from her window, landing soundlessly on the ground below before darting towards town.

Rosalie held her breath tightly in her chest, slowly allowing herself to breathe as she entered the dark streets of Rochester. The aroma of humans permeated the air, burning her throat as she stood on the dark street corner. But that didn't matter now.

Nothing would stop her from carrying out with her plan.

Glancing down at the cobblestones, she winced when she saw that she had found the correct lamppost, the right corner. Traces of her own human blood still stained pieces of the street; she was sure her vampire eyes were the only eyes able to see it. She fell to her knees, her sensitive fingers tracing the hard stones where she had laid that night, wishing for death.

She closed her eyes, begging for the tears to come as she realized something: she was still wishing for her death. Stooping down, she pressed her nose to the pavement, much like she had that night when Carlisle had found her sobbing, beaten, and bloody.

Wincing at the scent of her dried blood wedged between the stones, she picked up something else. Five _other_ scents.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Four weeks later, she hit the ground outside the Cullen house and took off to Rochester once again. Four weeks had passed, and four murders were now on her hands. Only one more remained.

_Royce knew she was coming for him. Her plan was almost complete._

She had memorized their scents that first night, hunting them each down in order of their offenses against her. The men who had merely beaten her and burned her with their cigars had died first, then the men who had raped her and pulled out chunks of her hair while smacking her with their large, ring-clad hands.

Royce, however, was being saved for last.

Tonight was the night.

But first, she had one last stop to make before visiting her ex-fiancé for the last time. She effortlessly slid the lock out of place, walking in the door. The delightful bell on the door chimed to only her in the dark, empty store. She walked soundlessly through, thumbing the lacy white garments as she stalked through the bridal store.

_This one? No…too much beige mixed in with the white_….she thought while sorting through the racks. Rosalie growled to herself as she felt the sting of tears that would never fall behind her eyes.

_This one is pretty, but I want something big and grand…like my real dress would have been…_

_S_he continued to walk around the dark bridal shop, looking at the wedding dresses much like she had done before she had been attacked. She could feel the familiar rage and anger beginning to boil low in her gut; she smiled sadistically at the feeling. Over the last four weeks, she had grown to almost enjoy the sick feeling she got before she committed the murders one by one.

Each time, the feelings afterwards got better and better; it was almost like the satisfaction she got from buying a pretty new dress as a human, or hunting as a vampire. _Only better._

Suddenly, she sucked in a breath. There it was. The _perfect_ dress.

It lay on a mannequin in the front window - how she had overlooked this one, she did not know- the white lace glowing in the moonlight. And the lace was certainly _white_, she thought delightfully, licking her ruby lips. She had it down in a flash, and began to dress herself in it gleefully. The lace lay delicately on her pale arms as she admired the pattern, memorizing it carefully.

_She would never forget this night. _

Once she had the buttons all fastened, she attached a few bracelets on her dainty wrists. A white flower pinned up her blonde, perfect curls. She carefully reapplied her red lipstick before turning around to admire her full reflection in the store's full-length dressing mirrors.

She clapped happily to herself when she laid her ruby eyes on her reflection. She was a vision clad all in white, her pale skin almost matching the lacy, white gown. Her burgundy eyes sparkled in the dim light reflecting from the street, and she fluffed her hair before stepping down from platform and leaving the store as quietly as she had come.

Walking silently along the streets in her long white gown, she was sure to hold her breath all the way to the King family's large bank, where she had already selected his frantically beating heart out from a few others that were surely guarding him.

Glancing up at the tower of the tall building, she could practically smell his fear as she grinned to herself evilly. A satanic glow had inhabited her heart as her eyes rose up the side of the tall building.

"Oh! Hiding in the tower, are we Royce?" she laughed to herself.

She paused on the sidewalk, no longer caring if anyone out that night saw her. Bending down to look at her reflection in a car mirror, she flashed her dazzling smile at herself before evening out the red gloss on her lips.

"Well, it's time," she chirped to no one, her happy-go-lucky attitude almost unsettling to _herself._ But no, she wouldn't let that bother her as she gently grabbed the front doors to the bank, crushing the padlocks effortlessly in her palms.

She followed the sound of the gushing hearts all the way up to the top floor, ghosting her way up every level until she was at the tower of the bank. The tower had a few rooms in it, but it was mainly used for storing old, family money in the large, room-sized vaults.

Killing the two guards was easy enough – she was always careful to not spill any blood and tempt herself needlessly. With an evil giggle, she tossed the bodies to the side with a sickening thud and crushed the padlocks and deadbolts that were on the door. It swung open with a creak, and she let his scent hit her nose, causing her throat to burn.

But she wouldn't be eating tonight.

He gasped as the light from the hallway hit her frame, and she turned slightly so that he could catch the hue of her crimson eyes as they glittered with rage.

"Hello, Royce, dear. I gather you've been waiting for me," She said sweetly, turning her head coyly and exposing her teeth.

He stumbled back against the wall in fear, falling down to his knees. "What…what are you? What are you doing here? What are you-u d-doing to me?" he sobbed, covering his eyes as she stepped closer.

Her eyes widened in mock surprise, a chuckle rising in her throat. "Let me answer some of your questions, Royce, honey," she repeated, smiling to herself as his heart thumped wildly in his chest.

"I….have come back from the street where you left me to die, and guess what? I'm a lot stronger than even you now, sweets," she cooed, taking another step.

Royce pushed with his feet against the slick stones on the floor, trying to push himself further into the corner of the room. A terrified yelp slipped from his mouth, further igniting her rage and need for retribution.

"I came here to kill you. But first, I'm going to torture you, like you did me. I'm going to beat you to the brink of death, like an animal, just like you did me.…and then I'm going to make you beg for me to kill you. I'm going to make you beg for your life to be over, just like you did to me. Say good-bye, Royce."

She didn't even give him time to scream before she began. Her revenge was complete.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Well there you have it! I hope you all liked my 'Rosalie'. She was another fun portion to write, simply because she has such a flair for the dramatic in my eyes.

**To explain her strange behavior at the end as she is committing the murders**: My version of Rosalie had gone slightly crazy, at least as crazy as a vampire can get. I believe that she would have been driven to the point of so much rage that she wasn't thinking clearly, thus, her strange banter with herself in the bridal shop and in front of the bank. I think she would have been a little deranged at first until the murders were committed and her attackers were dead. I think she probably calmed down after that was done. When SM describes her committing the murder of Royce in a wedding dress, that tipped me off. That did not sound like behavior of someone who was mentally well balanced at the time. So, I thought up some dialog for her to have with herself beforehand to further move along my idea of her unstable-ness.

**Please review, and remember to review and cast your vote for Rosalie if you would like to hear more of her story!**


	7. Emmett : 1935

**Here is Emmett!**

**I hope you all enjoy Emmett as much as I do – I loved writing his character so much! Just a slight warning – my Emmett is a little happy-go-lucky. It's just how I see him based on SM's writing. We don't get a whole lot of Emmett in the books, but this is how I see him. Being a vampire doesn't especially bother him, specifically if a certain someone *else* is there with him. I hope you all enjoy him!**

**Emmett – 1935**

_This is it old boy….last chance here. Get in his side, and get him good. Gotta make it count!_

He gripped the hunting knife in his hand, trying his best to ignore how hard it was shaking. He winced as he tried to tighten the grasp on the small blade as the bear snarled and shook his head in fury at him. Emmett had already jabbed the large animal twice with the blade, his fear hampering his confidence and causing the knife not to go in far enough. The grizzly's layer of fat around his skin prevented him from getting any good stabs in, and the animal was more annoyed now than ever.

Froth fell from its mouth as it growled and coughed, angry at Emmett for stumbling across his path while hunting. He only got even more riled up when Emmett inflicted the multiple gashes in his side.

Today had not been a good day.

His little sisters had woke him up entirely too early, only for his mother to inform him that she didn't want him to go hunting that day because of all the chores that needed to be done around the house. When he finally did manage to sneak away, the game had been minimal and he had quickly grown bored. Emmett silently cursed himself for falling asleep against the boulder, his gun propped up beside him. The bear had easily swiped it out of his grasp before slicing him across the arm with its steely claws, a triumphant growl emanating from its throat. Needless to say, that was not a nice way to wake up from a nap.

"Fuck," he muttered, eying his loaded shotgun on the ground, twenty yards away. The bear howled, bits of saliva flying from its bared jaws. Emmett rolled his brown eyes and winced as blood began to drip steadily down the side of his arm, the sight of it making him feel dizzy.

It was hard to stay optimistic in a situation like this.

Emmett had never really considered himself a lucky man. Not in the sense of family or material things, but in the sense of finding trouble. He was _always_ able to find a source for trouble.

The situation he was currently in was a perfect example.

For example, as a child, if there was a tree to fall out of, he would find it. Needless to say, he ended up needing stitches often. If there was a pie cooling on a windowsill, he would have no qualms about stealing a piece. As a young adult, if there was a new broad in town, he would find the time to coerce her into the backseat of his father's car. If there was a pint of sipping whiskey being passed around at a school dance, he would down it in front of his friends for a laugh. If there was an open window at a local bar, he would surely try to sneak in.

And he always got caught.

Hence, the bad luck in situations such as this.

His mother had begged him not to go deer hunting that afternoon, but as soon as she had left the house he had stolen away to at least check his traps. There was no way he was letting an entire Saturday go to waste.

It had taken him only a few hours to climb deep into the hilly countryside, where he was sure he could find a deer to shoot. He knew that his mother would be upset that he had gone into the woods to hunt, but he would surely be forgiven when she saw the fresh venison on the table for dinner that night. His family had never been very wealthy; he and his father worked at the same mill. His father had worked there his entire life, and Emmett was sure that he would continue to work there. Hunting, drinking, and causing trouble were his only thrills in life. And Emmett simply _had_ to get his thrills.

However, this particular Saturday, things had not been in his favor. He glanced down at his wound on his arm that was seeping blood, and he rolled his eyes at his own stupidity for falling asleep while waiting for a deer to wander into the clearing.

_If only I wouldn't have stayed out so late last night with Audra Mae…._He was temporarily pacified to picture the dim-witted, curly red haired girl that had let him get further than he had ever gotten in the backseat of his father's Chevy. Emmett had never really had a 'steady' girl before, and Audra Mae was easily the closest thing to a girlfriend he had had so far. She had let him pull her bloomers down at least three times, and that definitely qualified as girlfriend material in his book. A slight smirk crossed his face as remembered all the girls he had fooled around with; he usually irked them too much for anyone to stick around long.

He was ripped back into reality as the large grizzly in front of him stomped at the ground, snarling ferociously. Emmett groaned and tried to remain still, even though he guessed that it was a weak plan of action against the giant, snarling animal. It was mid spring, and it had probably woken up a tad too early judging by its cranky demeanor.

"I am one dumb cookie," he muttered to himself, trying to freeze up and stay still.

_Maybe the bear would get bored and walk away. _

Another wave of fear shot through his body as he watched the animal fall to all fours and begin too approach him. Emmett groaned involuntarily at the pain that was shooting through him already and wished for it to be over soon. He knew that he wouldn't be walking away from this anytime soon.

"Fuck…"

The bear growled again before it began padding over to where he lay, now bleeding heavily. His plan abandoned, he winced in fear before the bear angrily swiped at him again, this time across his muscled stomach. Shards of his flannel shirt flew into the air as the claws raked across him. Blood spurted out of the gaping wound, further fueling the animal's attack.

"AHHH Sonofabitch….." he gasped through clenched teeth.

_So this is it. This furry nightmare will be the death of me…_he thought as he howled in pain. It felt as though his body had been ripped in two, his insides all exposed to the chilly spring air. The wound on his arm was long forgotten as the new gaping hole in his stomach burned and stung from the exposure. The blood seeping out of him was making him so dizzy he was sure he would be done soon.

_Well at least this stupid grizzly didn't make me wait long for it,_ he thought sourly.

The bear paced around him, toying with him slightly as he grunted in victory. Emmett twitched and moaned on the ground, waiting in agony for the final blow. He expected the bear to bellow loudly in triumph. However, he soon heard something else entirely different.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

A horrible, hair-raising hiss echoed in the stagnant air of the small clearing.

_Oh lord, what now? Just my luck, probably something else much worse has come to finish me off….what the hell was that?_

His mind fought with his eyes to stay alert and locate the source of the awful noise, but the pain was quickly becoming too much for him to handle with a conscious mind.

As he drifted in and out, he barely registered the awful shriek that echoed in the woods around him, causing the hair on the back of his neck to jump to attention. He wasn't' sure, but it felt like a jolt of electricity flew through the air at the same moment the growling bear was silenced with a sickening _crack._

He could hear footsteps on the ground around him; something was approaching. They were too light though, soft and rhythmic. He winced, not sure if he should even bother opening his eyes to see what other atrocity awaited him.

Suddenly, he was aware of a cool gust of wind crossing over his body. He recoiled again as the air rushed across his open wound, making him gasp and his eyes open slightly. He fought to hold them open as he saw something very strange kneeling in front of him.

_An angel?_

The late morning sun framed her angelic, pale face that was accentuated by a halo of golden locks. The curls fell around her shoulders in a beautiful coif, and her glittering, golden eyes were saintly. She looked pained for a moment but quickly smiled when she saw that he was looking up at her.

_I must be dead. Or about to be. Shit…_

"A-a-are you...a-an…a-angel-l?" he gasped, trying to focus harder on her unearthly features. She smiled at him again, her perfect white teeth glittering in the light. She looked down at his stomach, pressing her plump, pink lips together in a concerned line.

If his stomach wasn't ripped open at the moment, it surely would have been fluttering with a nervous determination to win over this girl. She was easily the most beautiful thing he had even laid his eyes on.

He sputtered and gasped in pain as he laid there, waiting for her response. Her eyes darted from his stomach to his face, her distraught emotions clearly displayed on her angelic face.

"I have to save you," she murmured, reaching up to stroke his face softly. He leaned into her cool, perfect touch, the corners of his mouth turning upwards into the biggest smile he could muster through the searing agony of the bear's claw marks.

_Anything to stay with this broad…_he thought to himself. He was probably dreaming, but he would take it.

"Do you want to come with me? I can save you, I can!" she whispered to him desperately, stroking his face and hair.

He nodded, full of happiness for the offer she was presenting him.

_She must be an angel…._

He winced and moaned as he felt himself being picked up into steel-like arms. She began to walk with him, and he mentally said his good-byes to his life and his family because he was almost certain that this was the end.

_This angel came down to earth to take me to heaven…will she be there when I get arrive? _

He didn't have much more time to think as the cool arms tightened against his body, securing him snugly. Soon, they were flying.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

He could hear voices murmuring in the background as he was placed on the hard table. Voices shouting, then talking, then whispering.

_Where on earth am I? Where is that angel? Why aren't we in heaven yet?_ He wondered.

"Rose, you'd better explain some things to him. Ask him one more time while he can still think somewhat clearly," a male voice said sourly.

"Of course I will!" came the chimed response from a female voice. That was the voice he recognized…

"He thinks he's going to heaven for hell's sake, Carlisle. The least she can do is…I know, I know….but really? Is that fair to let him think that?"

"Carlisle, tell Eddie to shut up before I detach his jaw."

"How would like if I shaved your head, Rosalie? Hmm?"

"Children!"

There was a long silence in the room, and then people started moving again.

"He knows your voice Rose. Please at least ask him. And quick. That smell…"

"If I ask him will you stop your muttering and go bother someone else? How can you even think about your thirst at a time like this?" she hissed.

"How can you not?"

Soon he felt the cool hands return to grasp each side of his face softly, and the angel spoke again.

"Are you still there?" she asked meekly. "I found you in the woods and I couldn't bear to leave you…My father can save you, but you have to want to be saved," she murmured. "Do you want him to save you?"

Emmett didn't have time to respond before the male voice returned. "Tell him the _real_ side of the story, Rosalie. You found this poor sap in the woods and thought he was almost as pretty as you, and now you want Carlisle to damn another helpless soul to this life, just so that you can have some petty company," he snarled.

He heard a hissing sound and a loud _crash, _but the pain was quickly becoming too much for him to bear.

"Hurry, Rosalie. He's fading. Carlisle will have to bite him soon," the male said.

Emmett let a groan escape his lips as his wounds began to seep more blood and his whole body began to shake from the large quantities he was losing.

_Why won't this angel save me?_ He thought frantically. All he wanted was to see her face again.

"Hurry it up, Rose…."

"Do you want to become what I am? Do you want to live forever with me?" she wailed softly, clutching his shirt. He winced at the pain, but his mind briefly wondered what she was talking about.

"Explain it to him."

"You see…" she said quickly. "I'm immortal…I'm a vampire. My family are vampires. We are not monsters, and you wouldn't have to be either. Carlisle can save you, if you'll have me," she whispered urgently. Emmett groaned again and nodded.

_Anywhere this dame is couldn't be too bad. I don't want to die, either…._

He heard some shuffling around, and then another set of cool hands was at his side. He could feel his shirt being removed, and the second hands briefly assessed his wounds.

"Dear boy, I am going to help you. This will hurt, but it will save you and it will all be over soon," a different male voice assured him. This voice was different; softer, silkier, and older than the first. Emmett groaned in response.

_Just help me…this is agony…_

"You have no idea," the first voice said.

His mind lingered briefly on his angel's melodic, chiming voice before the second set of hands grasped his shoulder and head.

"I'm sorry, my boy," the older man whispered. "Please find it in your heart to forgive me when this is over."

His mind was torn away from his ripped up arm and torso the second his body was able to register the feeling of razor sharp daggers sinking into his neck.

And then the _real_ pain began.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

It felt like his neck had been injected with fire. _Fire mixed with every stinger from every yellow jacket bee I've ever met…and that's a lot. _

His mind traveled back in his memories of accidentally stepping on yellow jacket bee hives that were housed underground. The vindictive bugs would chase him down and sting him repeatedly, each one burning more than that last. This was that, only a hundred thousand times more painful.

The pain enveloped him. His gaping wounds in his torso seemed to heave and throb with pain as he lie there, gasping and twitching. For a moment, he felt like all hope was lost as his body heaved with agony at the fire ripping through him.

And then, a numbing relief washed through him suddenly. It seemed to temporarily put out the fire, but the embers still glowed underneath, singeing him.

"That should help a little…I gave him practically triple the normal amount for a human," the older male said softly.

"Can't you give him more? The morphine should help him…Please, Carlisle…give him more. We know it won't hurt him, just give him more! Before it's too late!"

"It's helping him a little…he's calming down a bit," the younger voice said.

"Rosalie, talk to him a little. Maybe try to explain things," a new female voice encouraged.

The angel returned to his side, running her glassy fingers down his arm soothingly. "I just wish I knew his name," she said wistfully.

Emmett struggled to stay with it. The pain was overwhelming, but there was nothing he wanted more than to tell this lovely broad his name.

"He can hear you Rose, just ask him," the younger male said. "I'm Edward," he said, leaning down into his ear. "I can read your mind…." He paused, audibly unsure. "I…I know that sounds strange, but I can really hear your thoughts. Can you think your name for us?"

Emmett frowned internally and debated what this 'Edward' had just told him.

_He couldn't possibly read my mind! What kind of circus trick is that?_

"I assure you I am no trained monkey…and this is no circus," Edward answered flatly.

_Holy cow! It IS true….well now smooth talker, my name is Emmett. Let's hear you repeat that, _he thought arrogantly.

Whether or not the other boy could really read his mind was irrelevant to him at this point; really anything to distract him from the pain was a welcome aspect.

"Emmett," Edward replied smugly.

_Holy shit, he wasn't lying. What's the angel's name? What's going on? Where are we?"_

Edward laughed out loud, clearly amused with Emmett's questions.

"What is it?" the second female asked.

"He's glad for the distraction from the pain. He's got a whole slew of questions for us. Rose…maybe you should talk to him. Introduce yourself," Edward said.

The angel cleared her throat carefully, and Emmett could sense that she was leaning closer to him. He heard a chair scoot closer to the table where he lay, and soon her sweet breath was blowing across her face as she began to speak to him.

"Emmett…what a lovely name…I...I'm Rosalie. It's very nice to meet you Emmett. I wish you could talk back to me…" she said sadly

There was a silence in the room, and soon the older male voice spoke. "Perhaps we should leave them for a few hours. Let's go for a quick hunt…we could all use it after this afternoon."

Emmett couldn't hear anyone leave, but the only voice he could hear now was Rosalie, and that suited him just fine.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

The hours passed, and the pain continued on. It was nice to have Rosalie talking to him, but he drifted in and out of consciousness as sometimes the pain was too much for his mind to bear. It almost felt like his brain was trying to run into the corner of his head and hide so that it wouldn't have to process what was really going on.

The fire raged through him endlessly. He felt like he was being burned alive; however, that would have been much less cruel in his mind. If he was really being submerged in a real fire, he would have been charred to ash hours ago. Instead, this satanic blaze was only fueled by time. It engulfed him.

His only respite was Rosalie.

Whatever numbing drug her father had given him had worn off hours before, and every hint of fire was now crystal clear as it burned through his body.

"Emmett, it will all be over soon. And then…then you'll be like me. Nothing can hurt me…well…physically. You will have diamond hard skin that can't be pierced by any bullet or knife. I know you'll love that," she said softly, stroking his hair. He wanted to open his eyes and smile at her, hopefully dazzling this dame like he did many others, but the pain kept him in check. He was useless.

"I know what we'll do!" she said, her voice an excited whisper. "We'll go back to the mountains where that pesky grizzly lives, and we'll hunt more of them together. They'll get their payback. Would you like that? We'll find one exactly like the one who did this to you and we'll teach him a lesson."

Emmett rejoiced at the thought of paying the irritated bear back for what he had done. Nothing except for that and Rosalie's smile would make him happier.

"I'm sorry…but I did kill the one who did this to you. I just left him there…I couldn't stand it to let him live."

Her tone had changed as she talked about the bear, he noticed. It lowered an octave and almost sounded…sinister. It was still heavenly sounding to his ears, but he noticed the change right away. It was almost as if…something had changed within her.

He was sure that she was some angelic creature, even though she claimed to be something else. As the fires in his body raged on, burning every bone, organ, muscle, tissue, and cell, he was certain that her voice was the only thing that kept him sane. He was teetering on the edge of going mad from the burning that continued to race through him. Rosalie's cool hands and soothing voice were the only thing that kept him secured within his sanity.

In the back of his mind, he wondered why she never left him. He had to have been there for days now. He had no idea how much time had really passed, but the torture had to have gone on for some time. In the back of his mind, he was eternally grateful that the angel that called herself Rosalie never seemed to eat, sleep, or leave his side for anything else.

She continued to talk and soothe him as he laid there, waves of agony and anguish washing over him. She told him that she was a vampire, and her entire family were vampires as well. He was certain that he was dreaming; they couldn't be the monsters he envisioned. He had seen picture shows at the cinema the depicted vampires and monsters, but he simply could not match Rosalie's face with the face of anything from his memory. Time passed, and he repeatedly struggled to picture her as he had briefly seen it when she found him.

Rosalie explained that her family - Carlisle, Esme, and Edward - were all turned into vampires at one point or another in their all too short lives. She told him that they did not murder humans like the monsters in the books and movies; in fact, hardly anything that was thought about vampires was even true. Most of the 'facts' about their kind were simply tales thought up to scare people. She quickly insisted that they were in fact dangerous, but tried very hard not to be.

"We do try to blend in as much as we can…I just started going to school last year. Oh, I never thought I would beg to go to class! It was nice after being pent up in this house for a full year though," she admitted sadly. "Oh, I forgot to tell you…I'm sorry Emmett, but you'll have to spend a year away from other humans. That makes it less likely that…accidents will happen. But you'll do just fine, a guy like you…" she said softly.

"I bet you're a force to be reckoned with. I hope you'll like living with us…I sure hope you do, really. We'll do our best to help you through the first year, I swear. I'll be there every step of the way Emmett. We'll take you hunting five times a day if we have to! Not that you'd mind…you were hunting when I found you, weren't you? I suppose you won't mind hunting all the time then…" she finished, stroking his arm with her cool, smooth hands.

He could hear another person softly enter the room, his loping footsteps drawing closer.

"He can hear me coming…his senses are developing. Won't be long now," the voice said. Edward. He could recognize it.

"Yes, Emmett, it's me," Edward called to him, walking up to stand on his other side.

_How much longer? _Emmett thought at him. The pain had grown to an exhausting point, and he wasn't sure how much longer he would last.

"I can't know, Emmett. Not long," he said.

"What does he want to know?" he heard Rosalie ask.

"How much longer….he's having difficulties…."

"Oh Emmett," she wailed softly, leaning her cool forehead down on his arm. He groaned, wincing at the pressure.

"Are you going to keep babbling to him?" He asked.

Emmett heard a hissing sound, followed by Edward's chortled laughter. "He doesn't mind it. You might want to….help him clean up a bit," Edward said before he could hear his footsteps leaving the room. The door shut, and a few minutes later, he heard different footsteps, lighter and almost melodic.

"Here you are dear," another female voice said. Emmett recognized her to be Esme, the woman Rosalie referred to as her mother.

"Thank you," Rosalie somberly replied.

"Something the matter?"

There was a silent pause, and finally Rosalie sighed softly. "I just hate to see him suffer. This must have been what it was like for Carlisle when you were changing. It's torture for me…and I have to admit I remember in too much detail what this was like for me, as much as I've tried to forget."

Emmett concentrated, trying to draw his mind away from the pain that was slowly moving away from his fingertips and toes. _Was it ending? Is it really almost over? _

"I wish this was over for him…I hope he doesn't hate me when he wakes up," she said softly, stroking his large hand carefully.

"It will be fine, Rose. Why don't you wash him up, and I'll go get Carlisle soon. I'll have to ring him at the hospital. He'll be happy to come home soon and see the progress," she said to her.

Rosalie then began to wipe down his burnt body with a cool cloth. She carefully removed all traces of blood and dirt from his face and neck, moving down to his torso. Emmett tried to concentrate on the feeling of the cool water on his blazing chest, for that was where all the pain was disappearing to. It seemed to be being drawn out of his legs and arms and into a gaping wound on his chest.

His heart began to frantically throb as he laid on the table and moaned in agony. He began to move and shift, trying to ease the searing pain in his chest as the wild thumping began to quickly get out of control.

"Carlisle!" Rosalie yelled, startling him slightly. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed that his senses of hearing and smell were growing more and more acute with each passing second. He could hear the tiniest of movements, every breath, and every step, even the crickets moving on the leaves outside the window.

He gasped and gritted his teeth as the fire roared up his chest and began to attack his last line of defense. He could hear his heart start to stutter, and he panicked when a thought entered his mind; _what if this wasn't right? What if something was wrong?_

He could hear Edward rush to his side. "No Emmett…you're doing just fine. Just a few minutes more…you can do this, Emmett. It won't be long," he reassured him.

It ached. It throbbed. It pounded in his ears. There was no way to escape the stinging fire as it gleefully seized his heart. The flames sent one offensive wave after another on his already frenzied heart. They crashed and burned, launching one assault after another, after another. The organ in his chest pulsated painstakingly hard a few times, then faltered. It beat one more time, and then fell silent.

He could hear four people in the room suck in a breath of anticipation, holding it tightly. The room was completely silent at last as he felt his body harden and seem to almost _cool._

Emmett opened his eyes.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

He spent a few moments on his back, just reveling in the feeling of his body not feeling like was going up in flames. Keeping perfectly still, he tried to gauge whether or not the fire would return if he were to move or jostle himself around.

"The pain is over, Emmett," a voice said.

With a violent hiss, he sprang up to stand in a defensive crouch on top of Carlisle's operating table. The table groaned at the sudden violent movement and crashed to the ground, making him spring across the room to stand, ready to pounce.

_Wow! How is this possible? How am I moving like this? I feel like a an iron grasshopper…holy crow…_his thoughts ran together in a jumbled blur, nothing staying long enough for him to even really contemplate it.

"Emmett," Edward said slowly. He walked closer to him slowly, his hands up in a signal of peace. "Emmett, you're awake now. The pain is over for good. Do you remember us talking to you during your change?"

Emmett stood there, his nostrils taking in all the smells while his eyes darted around the room wildly.

_It smells sweet, but…good. Like spices…rain…flowers…fresh cookies…fresh cut grass…leather…._

His new senses made his head reel. Everything was so sharp, so clean, and so crystal clear. It was almost like he was truly seeing things for the first time. He looked out the window next to him, noting he was able to look far off into the distance but still see each individual blade of grass, each bug on the ground, the molecules of mist that made up the low-floating clouds. Looking down, he realized that he was still in his ripped up, bloodied blue jeans, and his shirt was gone.

Looking down at his naked chest, his hands reaching down to grasp his perfectly healed stomach. Not only had it healed, but it had…improved? He frowned, looking again. Everything about him was bigger, paler, and perfectly sculpted. His arms were larger around with more defined muscles, and a perfect set of abdominal muscles covered his stomach. He was trim, but still impeccably muscled and well formed.

"Emmett?"

He saw Edward, who was speaking to him. Behind him stood a tall, well-built muscular blonde man, and behind him cowered a curvy but petite brown haired woman.

Then, his eyes found her.

She, the angel who had found him in the woods. The silky voice that had comforted him and soothed him while he burned. The goddess who had kept him from falling off the edge into insanity.

She stood off to the side, completely frozen. Her golden eyes bore into him, and she was clearly holding her breath as she watched him come to life. Her hair hung in golden ringlets, one side pulled up with a clip to reveal her elegant neck. Her lips were stained red, and her thick eyelashes closed and opened quickly, clearly looking at him in question.

The silence in the room stiffened as the four vampires across from him stood frozen, almost paralyzed as they waited to see what the gargantuan sized newborn beside them would do.

Emmett only had eyes for her. That girl, that dame who had saved him and kept him from harm…

"Rosalie?" He asked tentatively. He looked away in amazement at the sheer volume and capacity of his newly enhanced voice.

"Emmett," she said happily. She spared a moment to cast a smug glance at Edward, who simply rolled his eyes and wove a pale hand through his disheveled mop of hair.

"Rosalie," he repeated, his first vampire smile crossing his face. His large, sharp teeth seemed to glitter as the smile reached his glowing red eyes.

Emmett was ecstatic. Not only was he not dead, but he would get to be a powerful creature forever and live with Rosalie, who was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

_What a classy broad she is…._

He continued smiling at her and Rosalie took a tentative step forward, Carlisle blocking her with one arm in caution. They were acting like they were unsure what he would do.

"Is everything alright?" he asked suddenly, reading their faces.

They all looked at each other, clearly confused, but mostly relieved.

"Emmett…we aren't here to hurt you. You're safe with us," Carlisle said.

Emmett looked at him for a second, his face blank. They all looked at him cautiously again, and he suddenly burst into a loud laugh.

"I know!" he laughed. "You're all looking at me like I'm gonna go murder a bunch of kittens and then burn the whole shack down!" he guffawed.

"Well not exactly..." Edward muttered, looking over at Rosalie, who was still staring at him in amazement.

"Emmett, do you remember me?" she asked excitedly, stepping closer.

He smiled at her again, knowing that his charming dimples were showing.

_I'm gonna charm this dame like she's never been done before. I gotta get this girl to like me…I just gotta…_he thought.

"Of course I remember you, Rosie," he said, smiling at his own creation of a nickname for her. "How could I forget? You're my angel, doll."

Edward rolled his eyes, and Esme and Carlisle exchanged a knowing look. Rosalie clasped her hands together and smiled her dazzling smile back at him, casting another pointed look back at Edward.

"Laying it on thick, aren't we?" Edward teased. Emmett grinned at him, wanting to show that he could be a good sport.

"Just want to make a good impression on the angel that saved my life," he replied, meeting his eyes with hers. Rosalie smiled broadly again, batting her long eyelashes at him.

"Emmett, we couldn't bear to let you die. Rosalie explained that you can never go back to your family for their safety, did she not?"

Emmett nodded, his expression somber for a moment. "I wouldn't want to hurt my family. Rosie here told me that I…I'd have to distance myself for awhile," he replied.

"Yes, Emmett. Like I said…Rosalie couldn't let you die. She begged me to help you, and I complied. I hope you're not angry with me," Carlisle repeated.

He looked at the young, blonde doctor and nodded. "I wouldn't want to hurt my ma and pa…nor my little sisters. I couldn't do that…as much as it kills me to stay away. I wouldn't be able to live if I hurt one of my little sisters," he said sadly.

"We want you to stay with us," Esme spoke up, shyly tucking a piece of her brown, shiny hair behind her ears. "Edward and Rosalie are like children to us….please don't feel like you have to think of us that way, but…"

"You're welcome to stay with us," Carlisle said quickly, grinning at his wife. "Our home is your home now," he said. "We have a somewhat normal, happy life here, Emmett. You can too."

Emmett nodded. He was very sad that he wouldn't be able to go home; his mother would be a wreck. He frowned as he tried to picture her soft, round face. He was having trouble already….

"So you're not mad that I…I had Carlisle change you? You do know what you are, don't you?" She asked tentatively.

Emmett nodded. He looked at Edward, Esme, Carlisle, and then his Rosalie. "I know. You made me a vampire," he said, nodding at them. "But…" he walked forward, reaching out to take Rosalie's dainty hand in his own. He took a second to marvel at the feeling of her smooth, ivory hand as it rested now in his.

"I…I figure that…with how you all are….kind to save my life, explain everything to me, and take me in like this…ya'll couldn't be that bad," he said, jamming his hands into the pockets of his ripped blue jeans.

"And besides…it can't be a bad life if I've got an angel beside me," he said, tossing Rosalie a wink. She smiled slyly at him, obviously overjoyed that he was going to stay. He took another step forward, raising her hand to his lips to place a kiss on her small knuckles when suddenly, he stopped.

His lips…his mouth…his throat…._fire. The fire had returned…_

His eyes widened as the flames seemed to ignite in his throat. He dropped Rosalie's hand quickly, both of his hands flying to grasp the part of his body that had re-ignited.

"He's thirsty…we need to go," Edward said quietly.

Emmett barely heard him. He gasped as the fire increased again. It was like gasoline poured on dried leaves and pine needles with a box of matches lit on it. It was like swallowing the hot grease used to fry food in a diner that had been down the street from his house. Basically, it was _hot. _And it _burned. _

He looked around, trying to find something to quench the flames that had re-ignited in his mouth and throat. It was _unbearable. _

He flew from the room, his newborn legs making him into a pale, jean clad blur. Spotting the white porcelain sink, he grasped it tightly as he stuck his face under the faucet to drink straight from the tap. He barely noticed when the porcelain shattered where he grasped it, or how the floorboards creaked in displeasure at his stomping.

He guzzled the water down his throat, but the foul-tasting liquid did nothing to even begin to pacify the flames. If anything, it fueled them. With a dissatisfied grunt, he attempted to shut off the faucet with a casual swipe of his hand, sending the silver fixture sailing across the room to go crashing through a glass window.

The rest of the family flew into the kitchen to see what he would do next.

"Emmett!" Edward called, but he could not hear a word the boy was speaking to him. He instead flew to the cupboards on the opposite wall of the kitchen, clumsily running into the island that was in the center of the room, knocking a large chunk of wood and tile off of it with a loud crash. He ripped open the cabinets, his eyes searching for something, _anything_ that would help him put the fire in his throat out. Cabinet doors fell to the floor and splintered as he ransacked them quickly, opening random jars and cans with his fists.

He barely noticed the rest of the family wincing as he shoved almost an entire can of something that looked soothing into his mouth.

"Emmett, no!" Rosalie trilled, covering her mouth with her hand. He looked at her briefly before spewing the disgusting food out onto the floor.

"Ulgh!" he coughed, wiping his mouth with his arm.

"Emmett, food won't help!" Carlisle said with a wince as he watched the struggling boy. This was all happening so fast, even for vampires to watch.

"Oh Emmett," Esme said, pressing her hand to her cheek as she watched the newborn vampire ransack her kitchen. Emmet stopped finally, panting in frustration.

"We need to hunt Emmett…now," Edward said. He looked at them, desperate for help. Edward motioned to him, and he quickly followed the boy he trusted.

"Emmett, let's go!" Edward called, opening the front door. He raced out in the lead, Emmett right behind him, and the rest of the family followed. Emmett tried to keep his mind straight as an influx of new sights and smells hit him. His newly enhanced senses were in overload as he tried to run behind Edward into the woods. He wasn't quite sure what hunting as a vampire entailed, but he was willing to give almost anything a go, especially if it made his throat feel better.

"It will," Edward called over his shoulder.

"Whatever you say!" Emmett replied, his legs churning beneath him. If he wouldn't have been so upset with his fiery throat, he would have been completely enamored with his new speed and strength. In all honesty, he still was, but figured he would have plenty of time to worry about all that later.

He ran through the thick forest behind Edward, and he laughed when he could clearly hear and decipher who was running behind him just by their footsteps. He was temporarily distracted from his thirst by thinking of his speed and his new life with this strange, new family. Rosalie patted along right behind him, Esme behind her, and Carlisle brought up the rear of their run.

Edward suddenly halted, and Emmett fully expected to crash into him, however, the moment he even considered stopping he was frozen in a perfect halt. He laughed excitedly and it echoed through the forest like a thunder clap. Edward glared at him sourly and Rosalie and Esme giggled. Carlisle just stood there, obviously amused by his newest family member.

"Holy shit!" Emmett guffawed excitedly, his crimson eyes wide.

"Well I had stopped us to let you know that there were some deer nearby, but that herd is long gone now, even for us," Edward mused flatly.

Emmett just shrugged danced in place eagerly.

_Is that what smells so….so….appealing? _

Edward nodded slightly at Emmett's thoughts, and watched as he grinned before darting towards the herd of mule deer.

The smell wasn't exactly enticing; it was like being starving and expecting Thanksgiving dinner but only having a peanut butter sandwich waiting. He frowned slightly as he charged through the forest_. Somehow it smells like it would stop this damned fire in my throat though! This sure is strange…I like it, but it's strange,_ he thought to himself.

He continued further up the hilly incline, running up swiftly, pausing to sniff the air. His instincts soon took over as he spotted the source of the aroma that promised relief. Soon, the rest of his hunting party arrived at scene, ready to offer instruction.

"He'll do fine, I know he will," he heard Rosalie say.

"Perhaps you should go help him, Edward. He might not know-"

Emmett only paused for a split second before springing into the air, roughly pouncing on two deer that were standing too close to each other.

"Yes Emmett, that's the idea!" Carlisle called. "Now, simply snap-"

Emmett cut him off by lithely snapping each of their necks, one in each hand. The animals both fell slack, and he continued to let his instincts rule as he bit into the first, draining it quickly. He gasped a few times in surprise before draining the second. Throwing them to the ground, he stood up slowly, a little unsure of what he had just done. He looked at the slack mouthed group of vampires around him, and he instantly felt stupid.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked slowly, wiping his mouth again. Carlisle, Edward, and Esme were still gaping at him slightly, but Rosalie stood in front, her hands grasped behind her back, beaming at him.

Carlisle was the first to speak.

"Absolutely not, son. You did very well – much better than I've ever seen a newborn vampire do, in fact," Carlisle said. "Um…much better than most of us have ever done…I'm afraid."

Emmett beamed proudly at the compliment, his eyes immediately going to Rosalie to see if he had earned her approval. Her white teeth glittered in the clouded sunlight, her eyes ecstatic for him. He grinned at her and wiped off his bare chest and blue jeans again, looking over at Edward.

"Can we do that again? I think…I think I want more."

Edward nodded, gesturing to the rest of the family. "Sure, we certainly can. I smelled something you might be interested in a few miles back," he said with a grin.

"Do you feel better Emmett?" Esme asked. He nodded and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Yes, ma'am, and I promise I'll fix up that kitchen. I…I had no idea…" he trailed off, gesturing to himself.

She shook it off quickly. "No no, it's fine. We'll fix it up in no time," she assured him. "Let's go hunt some more now…although it won't be anything compared to the pickled beets you tried to eat earlier," she said, a sly grin appearing on her pink lips.

Emmett laughed loudly again, holding his stomach. "Was t_hat_ what I ate? Good golly, that was gross!" he said.

"Yes, I'm out of practice with my grocery shopping I suppose," Esme teased.

"Out of practice?" he asked.

She nodded. "We don't eat food, Emmett. I barely remember going to the market as a human, and that was years ago! I'm afraid I don't have much of a clue when it comes to human food or what to buy!" she giggled. Carlisle took her hand, swinging it lightly as they walked.

"No food? Hmm…that will be different," he admitted somewhat sadly.

Edward laughed. "You get used to it. It smells disgusting and looks even worse after awhile."

"You won't miss it…I don't," Rosalie finally spoke up. She walked beside Emmett, a few feet away, casting a few shy smiles in his direction. Emmett grinned at her again, and found himself even a little shy.

_This dame already has me wrapped around her finger…._

Edward snorted and gave him a disgruntled look at the thought. He walked faster, discreetly gesturing for Carlisle and Esme to speed up their gait.

Slowly, Emmett and Rosalie fell back a bit from the other three, and he was glad for an opportunity. Emmett cleared his throat, eager to speak more to the golden haired girl walking beside him.

"I never did get a chance to thank you," he said softly. "I'm sorry I went a little crazy there…it was just a lot to handle."

She laughed, and his dead heart swelled when he heard how the sound bounced off the nearby tree trunks like music. Tucking a stray curl behind her ear, she gave him another one of her shy smiles that he was quickly growing to love.

"It's okay, Emmett. I remember all too well what it was like to wake up and have my throat burn like that. It's…it's awful. All of us were newborns once," she said.

Emmett laughed again, clapping his hands together absently as he walked. "I just…I feel so out of control. But it's a good out of control…I feel really powerful and a little crazy."

She laughed again, and he realized that he loved the sound of the soft tones of her voice. She began to nervously twirl another section of her golden blonde hair around her finger as she watched him. "You'll feel like that…for awhile, unfortunately. It's hard to get your emotions and instincts under control."

"Oh…" he said softly, suddenly embarrassed. She pressed a soft hand to his forearm and he jumped slightly, both of them laughing nervously.

"Don't feel bad Emmett. We were all newborns and we've all been through this before, no one blames you for anything. You didn't know that you would be that strong when you woke up."

He smirked and shook his head. "No, I certainly did not," he laughed. "I was just glad to wake up from that…whatever it was…change…"

"I'm sorry about that."

"Nah, it's alright. As long as I don't have to do it again," he grimaced. "I should be thanking you for saving my life."

"It was nothing…I...I just couldn't leave you there with that awful grizzly. I've always hated those things anyway, and you looked so desperate for help."

He nodded. "I was…I fell asleep, I think…and when I woke up…it was too late. He had already tossed my gun all the way across the clearing."

She giggled. "I know, I saw it. I was so mad at that bear, I almost took him out before I left with you, but you didn't look like you had much time left, so I went home."

Emmett stopped suddenly, completely horrified at the idea of the cherubic creature beside him wrestling with an irritated grizzly bear, especially the one that had nearly killed him.

"You gotta be joking me, Rosie! You don't fight those damn crazy things, do you? Especially in the spring time!" he said.

She laughed, turning to face him. "Emmett, your skin might as well be steel. That bear could swipe at me all day with his silly claws and it would feel…well…" she trailed off, slowly snaking her smooth, ivory arm out to lightly tickle his own arm with her perfectly filed nails.

She laughed as he flinched slightly, a laugh escaping his lips at the feeling of being tickled as a vampire. Everything just _felt_ better, more alive, and ten times more amazing. They continued walking through the dense forest, him asking more questions as they continued on their hunt.

"So Carlisle and Esme are your…mom and dad?" he asked. She nodded, looking down at the ground as she gracefully hopped across a stream.

He followed quickly, the two of them falling back even more. "Yes, for the most part. Esme is more like a friend sometimes….but…they make great stand-in parents. I've enjoyed being their adopted daughter," she said.

"And Edward?"

She laughed again, covering her mouth. "He acts like my brother," she said. He winked at her playfully, and she let another nervous giggle escape her mouth.

"How long have you…?" he asked softly.

She looked at him sideways, offering a sympathetic smile. "Almost two years. I'm eighteen….well…twenty, I guess now. I was eighteen when I was changed, so I'll be eighteen forever I suppose."

He laughed again, scratching his stomach out of habit. "I guess I'm frozen at twenty then!"

She looked at him strangely, and he frowned suddenly. "What's wrong?"

"You…you don't mind this, do you? All of this…being a vampire, being frozen, living forever….do you?"

He thought a moment, not sure how to answer her without looking like a total goon. "Well…I didn't want to die. I just remember thinking that when that bear was comin' at me...It just wasn't my time. And besides – you found me, so how bad could that be? Everyone seems nice, and besides the thirst...I might miss food and beer, but it doesn't seem all that bad."

He looked at her, and she seemed to be surprised at his honesty.

"What about you?"

She thought a moment as he had, but her answer was entirely different. "I…I just always felt like it wasn't my time, you know? For so long I wanted to…I'd rather be dead. Or, at least I used to want to just be dead. I didn't want to live like this for forever."

"Really? But don't you have any fun?"

"Yes, I do…" she said slowly. "But it's a lonely life. Very isolating at first. It's gotten better since I was able to start school this year, but the first year can be very long, I'm afraid."

She looked at him skeptically, like she was afraid he would change his mind. He flashed her a smile again, and she mimicked the action.

"I won't' lie and say I'm not nervous about this whole 'first year' thing. From what you told me when I was changing, it can be pretty rough. But…I'm up for it. And hopefully this dull little 'vampire' life of yours will get a hell of a lot more exciting now that I'm here," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. Rosalie laughed, louder this time, and the two quickly broke into a run to catch up with the rest of the family.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

They ran together as a family for several miles until they had reached a desolate meadow that was a few miles long. Emmett marveled at how far his new eyes could see, and stood at the edge of the clearing taking in the new scents. When he picked one up, Edward flitted over and gave him a pointed look.

"Smell anything?" he asked. Emmett raised his nose into the air further, inhaling the scent. The burn in his throat heated up slightly, but it was nowhere near the multitude of pain he had felt when first waking up.

"It won't be as bad unless you go a long time without feeding," Edward said. "We won't make you go long at all your first year, so try not to worry about it."

Rosalie and Esme both gave him encouraging smiles, and Carlisle nodded. "Yes Emmett, we'll take you hunting anytime you get uncomfortable."

Emmett gave him a curt nod in thanks, and turned back to Edward. He wanted to give Rosalie more attention and continue their talk, but at that moment, the aroma wafting through the air was almost _too _appealing to his new senses.

"What is that?" he asked slowly, trying to decipher the scent. It was almost…_familiar. _

Edward gave him a smirk. "Grizzly."

Emmett laughed loudly again, an amused smile growing on his face. "You're kidding me! Naw, man!" he slapped his thigh, enamored with the idea of hunting a bear like the one that had nearly killed him. Rosalie gave him another one of her dazzling smiles of encouragement, and he beamed back at her.

"You weren't lying when you said I would get my grizzly!" he said quietly to her. She nodded, her eyes going back to the meadow where the scent was coming from.

"Then go!" she said with another persuasive smile.

The family stood to the side as they gestured Emmett to lead the hunt. He took off, tentative at first, but as soon as the smell of the carnivores came closer, he easily picked up speed. He noticed that it was easy to let his senses and nature take over once the scent hit his nostrils.

"That's right," Edward called out behind him. The rest of the family ran several hundred yards away, giving the newborn space for his second hunt.

Emmett charged almost silently through the tall prairie grass that covered the meadow, his feet barely touching the soft earth as he flew. He was driven by the smell of the moving grizzly bears; the carnivores smelled much more delectable than his first meal of deer. He had to admit, even though the burn of his thirst hac been awful to endure, this whole vampire thing wasn't half bad.

He had a place to stay, some good people to support him, and of course Rosalie. He was powerful and fast, and virtually indestructible. _Maybe being a vampire might actually be a good thing, _he thought happily.

He had always been a well built human, but now he resembled a Greek God. He had always enjoyed the thrill of hunting wild game, and he had also loved to spend time outdoors as a human. He was mostly relieved to know that he still pretty much felt like his own human self, only better.

However, he quickly discovered that these were not the only traits he had brought over from his human life.

Emmett had also brought with him his uncanny ability to find trouble via his bad luck. Being a vampire did not change this.

Suddenly, the wind began to shift in the large meadow, bringing with it a very different scent from the east. If the smell of the grizzlies was ten times better than the mule deer, then this new scent was ten million times better than the scent of the grizzly.

Without even a pause, he quickly sped up, his strong newborn legs began to churn in a blur beneath him as he ran.

"Emmett, no!" Edward called out from behind him. But Emmett barely registered the panicked tones of the younger boy's shout, or the ones of Rosalie and Carlisle as they chased after him.

No, Emmett wasn't even thinking about his new family as he moved in on the source of the scent. It was absolutely _intoxicating_, and it lit up his throat in a torturous but excruciating manner. It became stronger and stronger as he got closer, the footsteps of his panicked followers falling to the wayside.

It all happened in a blur.

A bloody, screaming, awful blur. One second, he was running, enticed by the new aroma in the air, the next he was pouncing on something warm and throbbing, drinking as fast as he could. When he finally came to, he dropped the last of the bodies on the ground with a sickening 'thump'.

It was over.

His new family rushed into the small clearing on the side of the meadow, their faces drawn and worried, clearly sickened at the sight before them. Esme covered her eyes, retreated to the other side of the clearing, Carlisle at her side for comfort. Edward stood frozen on the other side, his eyes surveying the scene.

Rosalie stood in the middle, staring at him blankly, her face void of any emotion. The only thing between her and Emmett were the bodies of three teenage hikers, probably not any older than they would have been, should they have been human.

He looked up at her in horror, completely disgusted by what he had just done. He had let her down.

Rosalie let a panicked sob escape her lips as she looked down at the empty faces of the drained teenagers. Her eyes then moved up to look at Emmett, the golden orbs full of panic.

"What have I done to you?" she whispered. He stared back at her, unable to answer.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Emmett groaned and buried his face into the bedspread. Night had fallen on his first day as a vampire, and he couldn't help but feel like he should be sleeping. They had assured him that sleep was indeed impossible for their kind, but he still felt like he shouldn't be awake. He had looked incredulously at Carlisle when the soft-spoken man told him he hadn't slept in almost three hundred years.

He growled softly to himself, the sound still startling him a bit. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't stop thinking about the taste of his last sinful meal.

He felt horrible about the crime he had just committed. Edward and Carlisle hadn't wanted him to help dispose of the bodies, but Emmett had insisted he help burn them and bury the remains as a sort of punishment to himself. Edward had looked at him and given him a pained expression as he listened to Emmett silently berate himself for what he had done to the three human campers.

It was the most horrific and yet satisfying thing he had done in his entire life. The feeling of drinking their blood so quickly and unabashedly haunted his every unnecessary breath.

He could hear the four other vampires downstairs as they talked in whispers about what had just happened, and his guilt increased by the second. Part of his new mind dwelled on the satisfied feeling in the pit of his stomach while the other part relentlessly shamed him like his mother would for coming home late, reeking of liquor.

"I hate to say 'I told you so' Rosalie, but in this case, I believe it is highly necessary," Edward chided her downstairs. He spoke in a hushed tone, but Emmett could hear every syllable spoken.

He heard a violent, awful hiss that made the hairs on his arms stand up. _Rosalie._

He had learned that the lovely angel he had been enamored with from the start had a violent, ill tempered side that showed when she was cornered or upset. It gave him chills to watch her spar with her brother; she was magnificent to watch, and even listening to her fight for him gave him another chill.

He was waiting upstairs in the guest room that would become his as the rest of the family decided what to do downstairs. Carlisle had offered that they move right away to avoid suspicion. They had only been in the house a little over a year, but he had no qualms about leaving already.

"It would be an easy task to leave, son," he heard Carlisle say softly.

"Yes, maybe it would be good to start off fresh again…what with our new family member and all," Esme piped up.

Edward growled shortly, voicing his distaste. "So we pack up and leave with our tails between our legs? Is that what happens every time Rosalie decides to bring home a stray pup?" he sneered.

Rosalie echoed his comment with another violent growl, clearly agitated. "Edward, I had no choice! I couldn't just let him die! I'd like to see you in that situation."

"May I remind you of your own feelings about this life? I would have let nature take its course, Rosalie. People die every single day without your haughty interference."

"Edward," Carlisle warned.

"No, Carlisle, I want to know. You hate this life and make no secret of that opinion. Day in and day out, we have to listen to you mope and carry on about how unfair it is that you're like this, yet you wasted no time selfishly damning another human being to join it with you!"

"Shut up, Edward! You would do the same!"

"I beg to differ, sister. This life has damned me since 1918, and here it is nearly two decades later and I have not felt the selfish need to trap someone else like this for the self-seeking need to claim a mate," he growled.

_So that's why she changed me? She wanted a ….mate? _Emmett thought to himself. He wasn't angered with her at all. In fact, he was intrigued. He felt…_chosen. Special. _

Edward wasn't finished. "And now…_now_ we have a gargantuan sized newborn on our hands who is upstairs , fixatedly thinking about the taste of a few teenage campers. What do you think about that?" Edward spat, his voice raising.

Emmett cowered into the bedspread, gripping the sides of it. He felt awful and guilty for even thinking about the taste of the campers, but he couldn't help it.

Instead, he aimed his thoughts at Edward. _I'm sorry, Edward. Please tell them I'm sorry. I'll let you lock me in the attic for a year if it means I can't do that again. I feel awful…I don't want to let Rosie down….I won't do it again…I want to live like you….I'll stop thinking about the blood…._

He heard Edward sigh repeatedly, his hands weaving in and out of his hair. He also heard when Edward left the house, the front door slamming behind him. The three remaining vampires all looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

He heard the soft pitter patter of footsteps coming up the steps, and he raised his head to look up as Rosalie entered. She left the door open, carefully stepping over to crouch beside the bed where he lie face down.

He almost shivered as he felt her soft, warm hand on his arm, stroking it like a mother would a crying child.

"Emmett?" she asked timidly, patting him softly. It felt like the wings of a butterfly on his forearm, and he found himself fighting to resist. Lifting his head, he looked at her sourly for a second, but instantly changed his expression when he was met with her un-earthly face just as few inches away. His breath caught in his throat as he looked first at her, then at her hand that was still ghosting up and down his arm.

"Why do you feel warm to me now?" he asked.

"What?"

He gestured to her hand. "When you found me in the woods, you were so cold. Now you feel warm to me. Why is that?" he asked again.

Her face softened, and she smiled at him. "It's because we're the same now, you and I," she said quietly. She looked down at her lap, smoothing the wrinkles out of her pretty, bluish purple dress.

"You look nice in that color," he said awkwardly, propping himself up on his elbows. He wanted so badly for her to approve of him, and he was determined to earn her trust back any way possible.

She looked up at him, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "Thank you…I like it too. My eyes used to be this color, or at least that's what Esme tells me."

"You knew Esme as a human?"

She nodded. "I would see her around Rochester. I was always so jealous of how beautiful the Cullens were. They were the only people in town that I thought were more beautiful than I was. You see, I was a very conceited girl, Emmett. I…I still am."

He looked at her expressive golden eyes as she spoke, sensing that she wanted to continue. "You see, I've always been stubborn and selfish, and I guess those are a few things I brought with me into this life. I…I was selfish…to change you, Emmett. I begged Carlisle, knowing that he would do anything to make me happier."

Emmett shrugged, immediately sad that she looked so forlorn and unhappy. "You didn't seem too unhappy when I first saw you. I have that pretty smile burned into this new vampire brain of mine, and that's just fine with me," he said, reaching out to touch her cheek. She smiled, looking back down at her lap.

"Yes, well…you make me happy, but that's not the point. I selfishly had Carlisle change you for me, and unfortunately that's something I can never undo, Emmett. Edward was very right- I damned another human being to this life because of my own unhappiness. I'm very sorry for doing this to you…and…" she choked up, her large yellow eyes growing undeniably sad. "And I hope that someday you will forgive me for doing this to you…this...this awful thing."

"Hey now," he whispered, scooting closer to her. "You can't beat yourself up over this, Rosie," he said. She smiled at the new nickname, her eyes coming up to meet his again.

"You can't think that I think like that. Because I don't. I mean…I liked my life well enough, sure. But…I would be dead right now if you hadn't saved me from that oversized teddy bear," he laughed. "I wasn't ready to die. That's the last thing I remember thinking when I was layin' there Rosie. I wasn't ready. There's so much more to do and see and explore…it wasn't my time."

"Yes, but-"

"-But nothing. I'll get through this newborn thing well enough. If you're here to help me, I'll prolly be alright," he said. "But after that…we could have a good enough time of things. Hell, we got everything we could ever need here!" he said, gesturing to the large house around them.

"So...You're not angry with me?" she asked in wonder. He shook his head.

"I'm gonna make the best of this vampire thing…We gotta get me through this year, but I'm sure I can do it with a classy dame like you by my side. Heck, a guy would have to be a fool to not want to spend time with a girl like you. You're a catch, Rose."

She grinned at him, and he reached for her arm, careful to be gentle. He pulled her up to sit beside him on the bed, and tentatively extended his arms for a hug. She looked at him strangely, then slowly wrapped her arms around his in a tight embrace.

Emmett closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of her; she smelled like the inside of the flower shops he used to go to for flowers to give to his mother. She smelled like fresh rain and the best perfume he had ever smelled. Holding her there against him and breathing her in only further confirmed in his mind what his heart had already told him.

_He belonged to her._

He broke their embrace, reaching down to hold her small, pale hands in his own larger ones.

"Rosie, if you promise to help me through this first year, I promise I'll help you enjoy this life…if we have to do it as vampires, then so be it. I'm not mad about being changed. I'm willing to give this whole thing a real shot."

"Really?" she asked, her hopeful voice just above a whisper. He nodded, a determined air about him. "I'm no quitter. If this is what life tosses me…then…I'll make the best of it. I know it's going to be hard…cuz at much as I hate to admit it…the human blood was good," he admitted.

She nodded, her eyes growing sad. "But I won't do it anymore if I know it makes you sad. I'll…learn to live without it. It's not worth it to me. I'll never forget that look on your face when I…." he trailed off, and this time it was her turn to touch his cheek lovingly.

"I won't do it again Rose. Edward and Carlisle can chain me to the floor if that's what it takes. It if makes you unhappy, I don't want anything to do with it. Nothing to upset my angel," he added, giving her a dimpled grin.

She gave him another glittering smile, clearly elated with the words he was saying to her.

"Just promise me you'll let me show you a good time for…well…I guess we have awhile," he said sheepishly.

She grinned at him widely, her dazzling smile once again crossing her lips. She grasped his hands in hers, and he could almost feel her coming back to life in his grasp.

"I promise."

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Alright, I hope you guys enjoyed Emmett! This was a great piece that I cranked out in almost one sitting. Emmett was an absolute blast to write, and I hope you guys enjoyed him too.

**Please read my explanation for Emmett!**

My inspiration for him came from the Twilight DVD – the making of the movie where Stephanie Meyer is discussing each vampire. When she gets to Emmett, she says something along the lines of, "Oh Emmett…he might be a vampire, but he's going to make the best of it and just have fun with it."

So that was why I made him an agreeable character when it came to becoming a vampire. I always got the impression that once he laid eyes on Rosalie when he was dying, he was willing to do almost anything to be with her. I made him happy-go-lucky at first because I thought that was a good way to bring him into the Cullen's life. Of course, they are all horrified when he kills the campers, so that is really where the conflict comes in. They realize that Emmett is this HUGE new born vampire that they probably cannot control – it's all going to be about choices and doing what he thinks will please Rosalie in this one.

Remember, I will be adding onto the stories that get the most feedback/likes/input. So if you particularly enjoyed a certain character, voice it!


	8. Sam : June 2005

**Alright wolf girls, here is what you've been waiting for. I give you Sam! I did my best with him, and I hope you all enjoy his story. **

**Vamp girls: please give it a try! I promise not do disappoint! **

**Writing's Sam's fic proved to be quite a challenge, and I think this one took me the longest to write, so I hope to live up to everyone's expectations. **

**Read!**

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**Sam – June 2005**

"Gonna be a hot one again, I guess."

Sam Uley looked over at the tall, skinny boy he was working with. The sweaty, slightly questionable looking teenager was clearly uncomfortable having to ride with him in a truck for the whole day, but Sam could have cared less. There was only one more load to drop off, and then they would be done for the day. He kept his face completely somber as he answered.

"Looks that way," he said curtly.

"Heh…yeah…" Clay answered, tapping the windowsill of the truck as Sam drove. After a few seconds, Sam cast a dark look at Clay and he stopped his tapping in response.

Usually he didn't mind working with others, but lately he was in no mood for small talk, especially with this cocky, irritating teenager. Clay wiped his brow, tucking the worn handkerchief back into the front pocket of his overalls with a whistle. Then, he continued to whistle. Sam just rolled his eyes and fumed under his breath. They rode along the winding roads, soon pulling back into the main dock. They had just run a load up to Makah, and were on their way home for the day.

Sam couldn't have been happier for that day to end.

He looked up, wincing into the sun. The weather was hot and muggy, especially for June. Usually things didn't get that warm in Washington until the middle of July. With a grunt, he slammed the door to the truck after getting out. It was going to be a long summer.

Normally, Sam didn't mind his work at the local mill, just outside of Forks. He got to work outside, do physical labor that he enjoyed, and nothing was ever complicated. It was just cutting down trees and shipping them out. Lately, though, things hadn't been that simple.

He had always been a straightforward, level headed, calm guy. His dad had taken off when he was younger, and Sam had stepped up to become the man of the house for his mother. It was a role that he took in stride, and never really thought to question it. It needed to be done, so he did it. He had lived with his mother his entire life, helping run the house and do whatever she needed, which really wasn't much.

His mother had sacrificed almost everything she had in order to raise him. She had never had much of a social life while trying to raise a little boy on her minimum wage salary. Sam appreciated his mother, which was why he didn't mind so much when he had to give up a college scholarship for football. He was the first student from the reservation where they lived to ever be offered a full ride to college for sports, and everyone had been disappointed when he had to turn the offer down.

_Well, they didn't all know what I have to deal with…screw em, _he thought bitterly.

As he walked back up to the main office to drop off his paperwork for the load, he thought back to the fight they had had that morning. His mother had been worried sick and irate when he returned home so late from his girlfriend's house, and he hadn't wanted to hear about it. Lately things had become much harder for him and the only person that made it better was Leah.

Her long, raven black hair and almond-shaped eyes were all he needed to think about to make himself feel better. He had fallen in love with the spunky, no-nonsense pretty girl the moment she stepped foot on the reservation's high school two years before. He had been a junior when she was a freshman, so naturally people had raised some eyebrows at the relationship. Not that it mattered. Leah Clearwater had quickly become his reason for everything in life. She was sweet when she needed to be, but her fiery attitude and sarcastic sense of humor made him fall in love with her all over again each time he saw her light brown eyes.

_Leah._

He felt instantly calmer as he thought about the night before. He had snuck into her window around midnight, after her parents had gone to bed. They had had to be quiet, but that only made it hotter for both of them. Being with Leah like that made everything in life have more purpose. Afterwards, he couldn't bear to leave her for several hours, thus creeping back into his mother's house at quarter to five the next day. His mother had been less than thrilled to catch him.

The year after graduating high school had been a rough one on Sam. He had gotten a job and became an adult, but his mother still expected him to follow her rules and curfews, even though he felt like a man. Lately, his temper had been getting the better of him.

He walked into the office of the recipient dock, gripping the papers tightly as he waited for them to be signed. As he thought about the fights with his mother and his unexplained sudden temper, he felt his teeth start to slice through his lip he was so deep in thought. Frowning, he could taste the faint traces of blood that he drew from biting his lip so hard.

"Here," the man at the window said, motioning him over. Sam slid the papers through and waited for the signature showing that he had delivered the last load of wood for the day. The man behind the little glass window gave him a strange glance, but quickly looked back down at his desk when he met Sam's blackening eyes.

He turned and left the office, jamming the papers hastily into his back pocket. He needed to think about something else other than fighting with his mother; he could already feel himself getting worked up. Anger began to boil in his stomach, moving up to his chest. He rapidly wiped his brow out of habit; sometimes the fury he felt made him almost feel hot.

Sam felt horrible treating his mother like he was; she hadn't done anything to him that was large enough to warrant his recent temper tantrums. He had begun lashing out at her verbally, unable to control himself. He would often shake with so much anger and rage over the silliest things. He was really starting to worry himself. Earlier that day, he had gone to eat his lunch in the break room when the soda machine had gotten a jam, preventing him from getting his drink. He had dented the machine when he punched it in anger, earning several strange looks from his coworkers.

His fits of anger were strange, especially since he had been so calm and easy going most of his life. Looking back at some of the spats and fits of rage he had experienced lately, they seemed silly and childish to him when he was calm. Even as little as fifteen minutes after a fit of fury, he would often be able to calm down enough to feel stupid about his blowup. He didn't understand what was going on. He felt like a petulant little child for acting this way, but he couldn't control himself.

Although he couldn't explain where these fits of rage were coming from, there was one thing that made him feel better and forget his worries: Leah.

He smiled to himself as he thought about how she had looked last night in her tiny bed, the moonlight spilling through her window onto her toffee colored skin. Just thinking about the contrast between the smooth colors of her body against the white cotton sheets made him lick his lips in anticipation for the next time they would have a chance at being alone again.

"Be sure that truck gets loaded before you leave here, I don't trust those guys screwing around back there."

He looked up at his boss, who just happened to be his girlfriend's father. "Alright, Harry," he called, nodding at the older man curtly. Harry nodded back at him, doing a strange double take when he saw him.

_Oh crap. Does he know I was in his daughter's room last night? Fuck._

But Harry just continued back into his office, the same as he usually did. Sam frowned slightly, brushing his dirty, chin-length hair back away from his face. He missed his long, straight, raven black hair. It used to be down past his shoulders, but he had gotten it cut off when he got a full time job last year. It now hung down just past his ears, just short enough to annoy him, but not long enough to pull back.

He pulled awkwardly at his too-tight t-shirt, trying to stretch it out some more. The material clung to him, and in the current heat wave they were having, that was not a good thing. Frowning, he tugged at the collar of his work shirt, wishing he could cut off the sleeves and make the collar bigger. He didn't think he was gaining weight, but his clothes sure begged to differ. Everything was tighter and shorter on him these days, and he was quickly growing annoyed.

_Why does everything fucking annoy me these days?_ He thought. Shaking his head, he headed back to the truck so that he could park it in the back lot now that they were finished for the day. Pulling the handle, he groaned to himself.

"Damn it, Clay!" he boomed, racing around to the other side of the truck. Clay sat on the back bumper, sneaking a very prohibited cigarette. Sam felt his insides clench at the sight.

"What?" he asked, quickly trying to hide the smoke.

"You locked us out of the fucking truck!" Sam sneered, smacking the back of it with a loud _thump. _The sound echoed in the yard, causing nearby workers to pause and look at what the commotion was all about.

"What? Oh god…I'm sorry Sam, I-"

"You are such a fucking moron sometimes, I swear to God. Why the hell would you do that? I told you to stay in the truck and I come back here to find you smoking?" Sam yelled, inching closer to his face. He clenched his fists and began to pant and shake he was so angry.

"What the hell? You don't have to go all ballistic on me, jeez!" Clay yelled back, stomping out his cigarette on the ground. He glared at Sam, who was growing angrier by the second.

"Get out of my sight you worthless piece of shit," Sam said, his voice lower. "Go home, try to do something useful, and pray to God that you're not assigned to work with me tomorrow," he spat at the skinny teen. Clay cowered slightly as if he was anticipating a blow, but instead Sam just stalked off. The other workers who stood in the lot slunk out of the way, clearly not wanting to get a taste of Sam's shameless temper tantrum.

Harry Clearwater stood in his office watching Sam storm to his truck with great interest.

_Could it be?_

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

After bursting into the house, Sam stormed into the kitchen. He had taken the long way home from work to calm himself, and he was relieved to see that his mother was not home. He wasn't ready to deal with her just yet.

He instantly felt bad for thinking so poorly of her. He just hated for her to see him like this. Sam knew that losing his temper like this wasn't acceptable, and it wasn't him. His mother was just looking out for him, after all.

He slammed the refrigerator door shut after scarfing down the rest of a platter of deviled eggs that were leftover from an office party she had gone to. To counteract the bitter taste they left in his mouth, he made himself three turkey sandwiches with an entire container of new smoked turkey, and finished it off with a carton of juice. When he finally slowed down enough to realize everything he had just eaten, he grasped his stomach. He felt a little better, but he was still fuming about work.

_How can that stupid kid expect to go through life like such a big fucking idiot?_

Just thinking about it made him fume with rage again. He got up from the table, pushing up so hard that he knocked the chair over. He didn't bother to pick it up.

Once he was outside, he felt a little bit better, but still had a lot of pent up aggression to deal with. He spotted the woodpile out back, and felt a little more relief when he picked up his axe. Stripping off his shirt, he began chopping the pieces up, adding them to the pile behind him. Physical labor always helped him use some of his pent up aggression, which he obviously needed. _He felt like he was literally going to explode._

Again and again he hit the pieces of tough wood, and each time he hit his target he pictured it as something that was bothering him. However, it began to have an alternative effect on him after awhile. Every time he thought about something that had made him angry over the past few days, the more he shook with anger. His hands even had a hard time grasping the handle as he chopped and chopped. Faster and faster he went, barely pausing to set up the new pieces. It wasn't even his goal to cut them anymore; anyplace to channel his rage was fine with him.

"Ah!" he gasped, dropping the tool. He gasped when he looked down to see that he had struck too hard with the axe, and it had fallen forward and sliced open his bare calf. He panicked; he was home alone and was already losing a lot of blood. He grabbed his shirt that he had stripped off and hastily wrapped it around his throbbing leg. _This was not good. _

His leg throbbed as the gooey blood dripped from the gash, a hot burning sensation covering the wound. This was very bad.

Hobbling into the house, he knew he would have to call for help, as much as he hated to do that. The cut stung and throbbed as he limped into the kitchen. The newly exposed skin screamed and burned in protest at the fresh air, and he winced at the alien feeling.

He would call his mom at work, and maybe then she could drive him to hospital. Turning on the faucet, he jumped up onto the counter beside the sink to rinse it off. He carefully pulled back his bloody t-shirt, prepared to see the gaping wound, and gasped.

_Wait…holy shit…holy shit…my leg….what…What happened?_

Where the axe had sliced his calf was now a scarred over, thin pink line. It still ached and stung a bit, but the wound was basically gone. He rubbed his eyes, dropping the t-shirt onto the counter, jumping down.

His leg had healed from an axe wound in less than a minute. Examining himself, he continued to stare at the place on his leg that he could actually s_ee_ healing. The thin pink line was fading by the second.

Something wasn't right.

He blinked, trying to focus again as the line continued to fade until it was a barely visible scar. His breaths began to get labored as his mind raced over the possible explanations for what had just happened.

There were none.

He had sliced his leg open, _deep_, and it had healed in less than three minutes. He had seen the peeled back skin and the exposed, light pink muscles before he had wrapped his t-shirt around the gash. It _had_ been there. He knew it. He was _not _crazy. Sam pushed his hair back out of his eyes, trying to think, wincing at the heat that dwelled there. As he felt his forehead and face, he realized that his entire _body_ was hot. Too hot.

Turning to the sink, he ran some cold water and splashed it on his sweaty, dirty face. Sitting back down, he tried to make sense of what was happening, but still couldn't come up with anything. Healing fast and a fever over his whole body? Nothing made sense.

Sam nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a pounding on the front door. He jumped up, his body feeling like it was on pins and needles.

_Who is that? Mom wouldn't knock…why the hell am I freaking out about someone being at the door? _

He shook his head and opened the white door to their house and was greeted by Leah flinging herself at him. He hugged her tightly, somewhat relieved to have her in his arms. He breathed in her calming scent of lilac and vanilla, hugging her tight against his hot chest.

She pulled away, her pretty brown eyes wide. "Sam! You're burning up! Are you alright?" she asked quickly. He shook his head and led her over to the couch, where he flopped down with a grunt.

"Lee lee…it's been a weird day," he said slowly, intertwining her small hand with his. He did a double take at his palm, marveling at how large his hand was in comparison to hers.

_I'm twenty-years-old…Have I….grown?_

He studied his hand with wide eyes, completely oblivious to his girlfriend who was watching him attentively, curiosity evident on her face.

"Sam?" she asked slowly, leaning forward, "Are you alright, babe?"

He grunted again and sighed, shaking his head. "I…I had a bad day…I dunno…things have just been weird lately."

She thought a moment, then nodded, folding her hands in her lap. "Yeah, dad said you went a little psycho on that kid Clay at the end of the day," she said. "Sam, that's not like you."

He frowned, his face curling into a deep scowl. "And how would you know?" he snapped. He pressed his lips together and looked down at his knees, instantly ashamed at himself for yelling at a woman like that. That was not how his mother had raised him.

"Don't talk to me like that," Leah snapped back. Sam resisted the urge to smile…Leah was not one to be pushed around easily.

"I'm sorry, Lee Lee…"

"It's okay," she finally muttered after a few minutes. She twirled a long piece of her black hair around her toffee color fingers, watching him as he sat on the couch. Sam felt her eyes crawl up and down him as she observed the changes in him. Sam felt horrible for snapping at her so much lately and for being such a jerk, but it practically felt like he was out of control.

Leah looked at him, her almond eyes searching his features as he sat beside her and fumed silently. He took several deep breaths in an effort to calm himself, and Leah grabbed his hand again, squeezing it. "Sam…you can talk to me," she said.

He looked over at her and offered her a tight smile, not sure what to say. Part of him was afraid to speak for fear that he would lash out again and say something nasty to his undeserving girlfriend.

She watched him for a moment, and then continued. "You've been…a lot angrier lately. I wouldn't take the crap from any other guy, but I kinda like you," she teased, poking him in the side. He jumped slightly, a small growl slipping from his lips. She jumped as well and looked at him incredulously, her brown eyes wide.

"Did you just…_growl _at me?" she asked quietly. He looked at her, just as shocked.

He looked back down at his lap, his breathing picking up slightly. _What the fuck, Sam…get it together. Come on now…._

He looked at her and was taken by surprise when he saw the pleading look in her eyes; she obviously wanted to help him and he wasn't being very conducive to that.

"Lee Lee…I just…" he trailed off, covering his eyes with his hands in shame. He had gone from angry to fine and back to angry so many times today that his brain felt like it was sitting on a roller coaster going at an unnaturally fast speed.

Leah sighed, grabbing the sides of his face and pulling him into a deep kiss. He gave into her slightly before he felt himself begin to tremble a bit. She mistook his shaking hands as encouragement and grabbed them to press them against her hips.

"Oh babe," she mumbled between kisses. Her smooth, inviting lips quickly helped him calm down for a few moments as they moved their mouths together passionately. Sam moaned as her strong but gentle fingers wove themselves into his shaggy, chin length hair. Soon, he felt himself grasp behind her denim clad knee and hitch her leg over his waist.

Leah moved to straddle him on the old sofa, her tall, muscular body fitting perfectly against his pelvis. He grabbed her sides roughly, groaning as she deepened their kisses. Anything to move her closer to him in this moment. Sam's body began to scream at him to take her right there on the couch, no longer caring if his mother walked in.

Just the thought of his mother catching him doing this was horrifying, but he couldn't stop himself. As she kissed him from her perch on his lap, he was suddenly overcome by the frantic, almost primal urge to rip through her pesky jeans and claim her as his in the best way he knew how. Animalistic, wild thoughts ran through his mind as he considered all the ways he could do this. The possibilities seemed endless as her sweet tongue caressed his.

He moved a hand up to weave it into her long, raven black hair as he pulled her closer. She whimpered as he grabbed her tightly, jerking back to break their kiss.

"Ow, Sam, ow…." She said, yanking his hand off her hip. He recoiled slightly, pulling away from her in shock. He had _hurt _her.

"Sorry! I'm sorry," he said quickly, holding up his hands. He looked at her in alarm, still surprised that he had hurt her by grabbing her hips so roughly.

Leah raised a hand and put it to the side of his face, stroking the smooth, russet skin. "Babe…you go off at work, you're acting weird now…what's going on?"

"Leah…."

"Sam. Please. I love you. Something is obviously wrong – I can see it! I'm not blind, Sam Uley, and it's hard for me to watch you-"

"Lee Lee, please…."

"No!" she interjected. "I won't stand by and just let you deal with…whatever is wrong by yourself," she snapped. He looked at her closely as her eyes narrowed and the fire that made Leah, well, Leah..._ignite._

He glanced up at her quickly, his brown eyes darkening in defense. "What do you mean? What's happening with me? How do you know?" he asked, feeling the familiar sensation of the anger rising in his stomach.

_She knows! She knows something is terribly wrong! Who told her? Why hasn't she…wait...no! Leah...this is my Lee Lee…she can't know… this is all in my head. My crazy...fucked up head…._

"Sam…."

"You don't know anything, Leah…just…just leave me alone," he spat, jumping up from the couch. "I just…need some time."

She stared at him disbelievingly from the sagging sofa. "What the hell are you talking about? I come over here, you _grab_ me and kiss me, and now all the sudden you're freaking out and telling me that you need time? Sam, what has gotten into you? And don't say 'nothing'. I'm not a fucking idiot Sam Uley, I know something is wrong!" she said, her dark eyes on fire.

He looked at the worn carpet, his cheeks growing hot with frustration and rage. He clenched his hands that had begun to shake as he desperately tried to calm himself. He didn't know what was going on, but he had a strange feeling that he didn't want to be around Leah when he got like this.

"Please just go," he said through clenched teeth. She looked at him in amazement, unable to believe her ears. He felt awful. He had _never_ lost his temper with Leah in all the years they had been together. In fact, he wasn't sure if he had ever felt this angry in his entire _life._

"_Please_, Lee lee.

She looked taken aback by his use of her nickname in this manner, this distressed tone. She turned her head as if she expected him to do something strange, but when he stood there frozen, she jumped up from the couch. Walking up to him, she took one of his hands, shocked at the heat of it.

"Sam…."

"Leah, please…just go. I…I can't handle this right now," he said. "I'll….I'll come over when I feel better, I just…can't right now."

She stared at him, her own dark eyes pouring into his . Dropping his hand, she turned towards the door. "That's fine, Sam. That's just fine."

"Leah-"

She yanked the screen door open, pausing in the doorway to look at him. "I just hope I'm there when you do decide to 'handle' whatever this is," she spat bitterly, turning to leave. Her long, wavy black hair spun out behind her, gleaming in the early evening sun as she marched out to her car. Sam's heart sank.

_How could I have snapped at her like that? I didn't meant to…I can't have Leah mad at me. She's the one thing that makes me feel better…what is wrong with me? I'm a fucking moron, _he thought to himself. He grasped his black hair in his fists, pulling at the strands in frustration.

He couldn't lose Leah. Everything would go to shit if he lost her. He had lost his father, turned down college, and agreed to say in dismal La Push. Leah was the only beacon of light in the dimness that was his life. He would do anything to keep Leah with him. This had to stop before it was too late.

Pulling his hands slowly out of his chin-length hair, his eyes gaped open as they visibly _shook._ His head jerked up when he heard his mother's car pull up in the driveway. He knew he couldn't handle another fight with her about last night – not when he was like this.

He bolted out the back door of the little house, running towards the woods. When he was in the shelter of the trees, he gasped and panted to catch his breath. Something didn't feel right.

Sam continued to shake while he tried to stop his racing mind as it poured and fixated on all the things that had made him angry that day. The images blurred through his mind in a mixture of one irritating thing after another: Clay, his mother, his fight with Leah…it all just made him so _angry._

He kneeled to the ground, his lungs trying to catch their breath. He wasn't sure if he was going to scream, throw up, pass out, or explode. Clenching and unclenching his hands, he listened as his mother got out of the car and walked inside the house, calling his name.

_I can't go in there…look at me...I'm…shaking all over…._

"Ah!" he moaned as his arms began to shake as well. Looking down, he swore his saw himself _blur. _He continued to groan and wince as his entire body shook and spasm.

_Am I having a seizure? What the-_

He didn't have time to finish the thought. With a final groan, he felt his entire body begin to shake and stretch and finally rip. He screamed in agony as every cell in his russet body exploded and expanded, searing through him like lightning. He fell to the ground.

On all fours.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_What. The. Fuck. _

He took several rasping breaths though his snout, trying to get a grip on himself.

_I'm dreaming I'm dreaming I'm dreaming…this is all just a bad dream…holy shit…fuck fuck fuck….wake up Sam…come on…wake up…._

He shook his large head, jumping in shock at the feeling of controlling what was clearly a much different body than he was used to. He took another trembling breath, looking around himself to try and decipher what had just happened.

_I just…I just shook with rage until I turned into…what the hell am I? _

He glanced down, marveling at the feeling of the new body he was now trapped in. He clearly wasn't going to 'wake up' from this dream anytime soon. Looking around, he quickly spotted a puddle at the base of a large tree. He carefully tried walking, unsure of what to do. He had never walked as an animal before…and he clearly was one now.

Peeking into the water, he jumped backwards at the hideous sight that he saw. Staring back at him was the biggest, nastiest looking black wolf he had ever seen. He fell back onto the dirt of the forest floor, stumbling over his newer, longer limbs as they got in his way. He snorted as he rolled over, something pulling on his spine as he struggled to collect himself enough to stand.

_Oh my god…I have…a tail._

He felt a strange sensation in his lower back as he raised it up. Concentrating, he moved it back and forth as he tried to come to grips that he now had a _tail. _

_I have a fucking tail, _he groaned to himself. He jumped slightly when it tucked between his back legs instantaneously.

He took a deep breath through his snout and sat himself down on the ground carefully. Turning around, he frowned as his tail laid itself out beside him. He tried to focus.

_Okay…normal day…maybe some temper tantrums here and there. Let's get this straight….I'm upset, I run to the woods, I shake and blur, lots of pain…and I'm a giant wolf. Somewhere I went wrong. _

He felt his heart rate start to increase as panic set in further. His breaths became faster and more jagged as he tried to remain calm, but the fact that he had just exploded into a giant animal was starting to make him lose control over his mind as well. The fur on his back began to quiver as he fought to make sense of what was happening to him. When a panicked whine escaped his new mouth, he nearly jumped out of his wolf skin.

_Did I just make that noise? Oh god…Oh god…I sound like a dog! I am a dog…holy fucking shit…What am I going to do? Am I like this forever?_

His heart began to thud in his chest as the dread set in. _What if the change was permanent? What would I do? What _could _I do? How would I tell my mother? And Leah?_

_No…this can't be permanent. I have to do something! I have to tell Leah that I'm okay…I will be okay, I will be okay…_ he chanted to himself.

Looking around, he tried to calm himself down a bit so that he could think straighter than he had been. Nothing seemed to help. He was a giant _wolf. _ Any way he looked at it, something was wrong. Very wrong.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

He sat in the woods under some low hanging pine branches for several hours, trying to make sense of everything. However, no matter how many explanations he considered in his head, nothing really made sense.

He felt like himself on the inside. There, everything was normal, minus the bouts of anger and fury he was still battling. Even the trees rustling annoyingly made him growl under his breath. _Everything _still annoyed him.

So he sat, knowing enough that he simply could not exactly walk into the yard and knock a big furry paw on the door for help. This wasn't exactly something he could see a doctor helping him with either. With another chuffing noise from his nose, he set his new large face down on his paws. It felt a lot like resting on his stomach with his head in his arms, the way he used to watch television when he was younger.

Frowning, he realized that he still felt like himself on the inside – he just couldn't talk. When he tried to say something, he had instantly felt like an idiot as it came out a muffled whining sound. His tongue just wouldn't cooperate enough with his mind to form any words. It was incredibly frustrating to _feel_ like himself but not be able to _act_ like himself.

He wasn't sure what to do next. Nothing seemed to be working, and his panicked heart was still pounding in his chest as he debated whether the change would be permanent or not. _What would I do if I'm trapped like this forever? I can't even talk- I won't be able to even explain to my mom and Leah that I'm a giant dog now. What am I going to do?_

It was getting dark, and he would need to go home soon or his mother would worry. He laid there, on the edge of his lawn, safely covered by the trees. His ears pricked up as soon as he even _thought _about listening to see what his mother was up to inside the house. The sounds were different, more defined with his enhanced hearing. Sam noticed that they now sounded like they were being heard through a special hearing aid or something. Shaking his head, his set it back down on his paws to continue listening.

His mother had called his cell phone already, discovering it lying in the kitchen, where she had also found his bloodied t-shirt from his cut that afternoon. He winced when he heard her panic, and he counted her footsteps as he listened to her pace around the small house.

After nearly seven hundred frenzied patters later, he heard her pick up the phone and dial a familiar sounding number on the touchtone keypad in the kitchen.

"Leah?" She asked. He raised his head up, listening closer.

"Leah, is Sam with you?...He's not? Oh…oh dear…well…do you know where he is?"

He listened to the muffled sounds of Leah's response on the phone, and felt himself growing more and more agitated as he fed off her nervous energy.

"Well…do you know…anything about where he could be? Please Leah…I know Sam and I haven't been getting along lately, but I really need your help."

He listened again, growling to himself in frustration.

_Okay, joke is over. How do I change back? _Can _I even change back? What if I'm stuck like this forever? I really am going to be like this forever…. _His panicked, frenzied thoughts echoed in his head, and he could feel himself growing more and more flustered as the time wore on. He kept having the same worried thoughts race through his mind every few minutes – it wasn't getting any easier to calm down or think straight.

Waiting only increased his antsy behavior. A low whine escaped from his snout as he heard his mother pick up the telephone inside and dial the police. Within twenty minutes, he groaned inwardly as the chief of police pulled into the driveway with two other squad cars in tow. Sam watched as the forest rangers showed up behind them, every one of them piling into the house with Sam's mother to try and figure out where he was.

_Can't say I expect them to find me now_….he thought. He glanced down at his paws again, still in complete shock of what had happened. Every time his mind thought back to the way his skin had exploded and been replaced with fur, he began to breathe heavier and his heart would speed up.

His heart was thumping so fast he almost choked when Leah pulled into the driveway, rushing into the house. Her coppery cheeks were flushed with color and alarm as she rushed into the building, her raven hair flying out behind her. He heard her muffled sobs as Leah hugged his mother, both of them sniffling and crying.

He whined again as the forest rangers stepped out onto the porch, delegating who would look for him and where. It was practically torture for him to sit and listen to Leah's tortured wails as she sat in the living room. He could hear everyone moving around the house, the floorboards squeaking and people talking. It was strange to hear, smell, and see so many new details that he hadn't seen before, but in this body…it felt almost natural.

_It was like he really was a wolf._ He shook his head and tried to clear the thought out of his mind as he looked down at the black paws below him. There was no way he could really be a wolf…this all had to be a bad dream. No matter which way his mind looked at it, that was all he could come up with. It had to be a dream.

He watched from the tree line as Leah exited the house, escorted by Harry's good friend, Chief Swan.

"Charlie, I want to stay here!" she insisted, wiping her bleary eyes. Sam winced at the visible proof that his girlfriend had been crying over him.

"Leah, Harry already called and said for you to come home. There's nothing else we can do right now. Sam is a big boy, he's probably fine."

"But what if he isn't? What if he comes home and I'm not here?" she moaned, a fresh set of tears rolling down her cheeks.

Charlie looked at her sternly and tried to gently pull her towards her car. "No!" she huffed, yanking her arm out of his light gasp. She frowned her perfect black eyebrows at him as her brown eyes darkened in anger. Lifting her chin in defiance, Sam's heart swelled with pride as he watched Leah refuse to leave. Leah was magnificent when she was angry, as much as he didn't want to ever see her angry. He wanted her nearby…just the thought of her helped calm his frenzy.

"Leah…" Charlie sighed, shaking his head. He looked at the determined girl in front of him and picked up his radio. "I'll have the station call your dad and let him know you're staying with Sam's mom tonight," he finally relented.

Leah's face softened a little, and she uncrossed her copper colored arms. "Thanks…Charlie," she mumbled, her eyes falling to the floor of the porch. She quickly hurried past him and into the house.

Sam winced as he heard her shuffle past his mother and make her way to the back of the house where his tiny bedroom was. He listened as she lay down on his small bed, pulling his covers around her to wait. He somewhat enjoyed his enhanced hearing but that was all he liked about this new body.

Lowering his head down on his paws again, he sighed. It was going to be a long night.

He didn't sleep as the night wore on; he had to move from his position at the edge of the yard a few times as forest rangers combed the yard and the surrounding area for him. He was amazed at how quietly he could move through the brush. His large body obeyed his every thought as he avoided branches and ferns as he walked. Moving through the woods silently, he easily avoided being seen by human eyes.

_This black fur helps too…_

Sam made his way back towards the house, still marveling at how quietly he could move through the dense undergrowth of the forest. He smiled inwardly as he remembered practicing walking silently with his friends when they were little; it was one of the first things Native American children were taught when they could walk.

_To move as silently as the wind, just like our forefathers did. Unseen, unheard, unnoticed….._

He frowned as something clicked in his mind. Forefathers…

Sam's eyes widened as one of the tribal elders, Quil Senior's stories came flooding back to him. The pictures that Sam had drawn in his mind of Old Quil's tales of their ancient ancestors turning into wolves to fight the tribe's enemies.

_Can it be? Could it be true?_

His mind reeled as he figured out that it was the only thing that made sense to him. Were the stories true? Could certain members of the tribe turn into protectors? It was the only scenario that fit so far.

The reality had set in with him. They were no legends…they were no myths, stories, rumors...no. It was all true.

_It was all the history of what had really happened. _

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

He watched as the forest rangers returned to their vehicles in the front yard with nothing. Pain stabbed at his heart as he watched the disappointed faces of Leah and his mother. His mother suddenly looked her age; her Native American genes usually were kind to her and made her look at least ten years younger than she really was. Tonight, however, her face looked drawn and worn out. She looked like she had aged five years in just one night.

He felt his ears prick up as he watched Charlie Swan prepare to speak to his mother.

"Any word, Charlie? Any?" his mother asked worriedly, swiping a tear off her cheek. Leah gripped her arm, both of them waiting with baited breath to hear any news.

Charlie sighed, rubbing his chin as he glanced back at the squad cars lined up in the driveway. "We haven't found anything besides the blood near the woodpile…but that might not even mean anything," Charlie admitted.

Sam winced as he realized they must have seen the blood from his accident earlier with the axe and thought the worst. Shaking his head, he realized that that felt like it had happened years ago now. A lot felt like it had already happened since then.

He watched as his mother began to fully cry now. "Oh, Sam…" she wept, clinging to Leah. Sam felt his heart start to break as he watched Leah bite her lip to keep her own tears from coming again.

"Now that doesn't mean anything happened. Maybe he came out here and just...had an accident. Sam is a responsible guy, he probably just went to find help and…."

"And what? Got lost? He's lived here his whole life, Charlie. Something happened to my son and now it's too late to help him!" his mother cried, raising her voice.

"We have to be realistic now. Something could have happened, yes, but we're doing everything we can to find him. We're going to bring him home okay."

The firmness in Charlie's voice calmed even Sam. Charlie had always had a quiet, determined nature about him that people had always liked. He was just calm yet assertive, a good mix of what the Chief of Police should be.

His mother began to cry a little, and then quickly sniffed back her tears. Leah rubbed her arm awkwardly, and Sam felt himself smile a little as he watched his girl try to soothe his frazzled mother. Leah was tough mixed with just the right amount of kindness, and he loved her for it.

Charlie winced and glanced out at the dark woods. Sam lowered his head as if to hide before he remembered that he was well camouflaged.

"Not necessarily. He could have just…wandered off. He always did like to be in the woods – maybe he just fell asleep somewhere out there. Leah said he had a bad day at work, and maybe he just needed to blow off some steam."

"But he usually just goes for a drive," Leah pointed out, her eyes falling on Sam's rusted truck.

"Well, I'm just throwing ideas out for you now, hold on."

"Charlie, just let us know if you find anything, please?' his mother asked. Sam noticed that she must be tired of arguing with the Chief of Police.

He stood as he watched his mother and Leah return into the house, and the police and forest rangers returned to searching for him. Despair settled over Sam and his family like a dark rain cloud. He had been like this for several hours now, and his mom and Leah thought he had been in some horrible accident. There was no way to fix this, and there was nothing he could do to change back.

The only thing left to do now was wait.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X

The days passed slowly for Sam after that night. He watched from the woods as the search continued, and he began to lose hope when their efforts slowed and eventually stopped. Leah returned to school, and his mother returned to work. The police had no reason to believe he was alive, even though they had yet to find his body. He winced as he heard one of the rangers in the woods talk about how situations like this were never good. The odds were against them.

Sam grew hungry after the first day, but had no idea how to eat like this. Could he eat human food? How would he get food like this?

He had run around the outskirts of La Push for several hours one day, his stomach grumbling and his tail between his legs. He had had to re-learn everything so far. Sleeping, going to the bathroom, even running. Everything was different with four legs and paws. And a _tail. _

On the morning of the third day, his growling stomach finally made him go closer to La Push. He could smell the tempting scents of food as if wafted from the few small restaurants in the center of town, but how would he do that?

_I can't exactly walk into the center of town and hope that people don't notice a giant black wolf…._

Sam huffed in frustration and twitched his tail. He glanced at it as it moved back and forth in an irritated manner. The fact that he had an actual_ tail_ still amazed him to no end. He could feel the base of his spine twitch as it continued to move.

He watched from the woods as the people of the reservation continued with their day to day lives; he had been a little sad when his mother and Leah had returned to theirs. It was almost symbolic of them, accepting that he was really gone.

He sniffed the air as a slightly rancid but edible smelling scent crossed his nose. Careful to remain hidden in the dense edge of the forest, he walked towards the source.

_It smells kind of like food…but…it also smells like…like…garbage?_

He blew the air out of his nose quickly as he crept from the tree line carefully, looking for the source of the slightly edible scent. And there it was.

The garbage cans that lined the back of the La Push Family Diner were placed in a group that was close enough to the woods that he guessed he could probably sneak up to them. Looking around, he made sure that no one was in sight before creeping out of the woods towards them.

He peered into the cans curiously, his stomach turning and gurgling as it demanded food after three long days.

_Well crap, what do I do now? I don't have any fucking hands…or fingers…or thumbs! Damn it…_

Poking his black nose into the side of the can, he winced as the metal banged on the ground as he fell over, spewing the garbage all over the ground. Food and debris scattered in front of him, and he looked around to make sure no one had seen.

_Well...this isn't as bad as I thought, _he mused as he picked up a hamburger bun and began to chew. The food in the cans hadn't been there long, so it at least was fresh garbage. That was at least how he justified it. Anything in his stomach was better than nothing after all. He couldn't exactly go home and knock on the door for a handout.

_I wonder…could I hunt animals like this? What would that taste like? Normally I wouldn't want to eat anything raw but…but anything would be better than this, _he thought as he chewed the lettuce from a discarded salad. He snorted and spit out the cherry tomatoes that were on top.

_That's kinda funny…I hate tomatoes as a human, I guess I hate them as a wolf too. _

He continued to eat for a few minutes before he heard someone coming. As pathetic as he felt about being interrupted from his garbage can lunch, he scurried back into the woods to hide. The diner employee quickly discovered the overturned cans and began to clean them up. Sam instantly felt bad for what he had done, but his stomach thanked him.

Walking deeper into the forest, he began to feel tired again. It had been a long couple of days, and he was beginning to feel like he actually could get used to being stuck in this new body. However, he really missed Leah. Several times he had circled the woods around the Clearwater's house, and he was comforted to hear Leah as she slept. He had watched her go to school that morning, his heart aching while she left. Her face was drawn and serious, just like his mother's. He had fought with himself to stay covered in the trees when all he wanted to do was run up to her and tell her that everything was okay.

Curling up on the forest floor, he put his head in his new black paws. This would just have to do for now.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

He yawned and stretched out his long limbs, inhaling the clean, crisp forest air. The one good thing about sleeping outdoors in the Washington forest was that he awoke every morning breathing in the fresh air, and it simply invigorated him. Also, it helped that he never grew cold, even on the chilliest nights.

He stretched again, opening his eyes. "Ah!" he gasped, jumping to his feet.

"Holy shit!" he cried, looking down at his hands.

_Hands…not paws…hands…oh…holy fucking shit…._

He touched his face, then his chest, and his arms…yes, everything was still intact. He hadn't exploded like he thought he did.

_This is so weird…go to sleep a wolf, wake up a human…holy shit holy shit…_

He continued to freak out, looking at his human body for several minutes before realizing that he could now go home. Looking in the direction of his house, he quickly got himself together and took off running naked through the forest. Glancing up at the sky, he figured it was maybe still early enough that his mother wouldn't be home yet.

_Might be hard to explain why I'm showing up almost four days later…naked._

He managed to beat his mother home, so he quickly showered and dressed himself. When he sat down to eat a real meal, he ate easily five times more than he usually did. Sitting back in the chair, he rubbed his stomach, grateful to have something in it. Outside, he could hear the unmistakable sound of his mother's car as she pulled off the main road and onto the lane their house was down.

_Wow! I still have the wolf hearing…wait…does that mean I'm going to change…again!_

He looked down at his hands as they began to shake. His heart felt like it had leaped up into his chest, and he swallowed quickly as he tried to regain control. Sucking in a few deep breaths, he tried to focus on not turning into the animal again – how in the world would he explain a giant black wolf in his mother's kitchen? That certainly wouldn't be easy.

His mother walked inside and instantly dropped her purse on the floor upon seeing her son sitting at the tiny kitchen table.

"S-Sam?" she gasped, rushing over to him. She touched his face and ignored his annoyed grunts as she grasped him into a tight hug.

Then she hauled back and slapped her son across the cheek.

"What the-"

"Where in the hell have you been? Huh?"

Sam stared at her blankly. _Shit. I probably should have thought up an excuse before I walked back into the house, since I'm guessing the truth won't fly. _

"Mom, I…I'm back now, okay?"

"No, Sam, I want to know where you've been!" she said, her voice rising. She paced around the kitchen table, looking at him incredulously. Fisting her hair, Sam winced as he noticed that she looked like she had aged considerably in the past four days.

"Mom…."

"Sam, you have some explaining to do. You do not appear to be dead, or maimed, or…" she looked him up and down. "Sam what happened to you."

"I…I…d-don't know."

"What the hell does that mean? Sam Uley, you disappear for almost four days and come back and say 'I don't know where I've been'? You expect me to believe that?"

Sam began to panic. He _obviously_ couldn't tell his mother the truth – she would have him locked up for sure! And sadly, he couldn't honestly say that he wouldn't blame her for doing so right now.

"You have to believe me…Just…let's just drop it? Okay? I'm home now-"

"No!" she shrieked, frustrated tears spilling over her cheeks. "You can't just do things like that, it's so irresponsible and selfish and….and…we had everyone looking for you Samuel. Everyone!"

Sam lowered his eyes. He may be a practically grown man, but he knew that when his mother used his full name he was really in trouble. She continued to pace for a few moments before picking up the phone.

"Sam, this isn't like you. You've always been a good kid…I don't even know what to think!"

"Mom, I'm okay, I'm home now, what's the big deal?"

"The fact that you don't even know is amazing to me. You've never done anything this reckless ever! What has gotten into you Sam?" she asked, still continuing to pace.

"Nothing, Mom, I swear. Can we just drop it?"

"Is it drugs? Sam…you'd better tell me now if it is."

"No, ma, it isn't drugs!" Sam yelled, pushing back from the table. The chair went flying back into the wall, coming to rest with a clatter.

"Sam, I don't' even know you anymore!" she cried. "What has gotten into you?"

"Mom, I just…I just needed a few days-"

"So you just up and disappear?"

"I had no choice-"

"Where were you?"

"I was…I don't want to talk about it. Things have been hard lately…."

"That's no excuse!" She yelled. "You had us all so worried! I haven't slept in days I was so worried about you! And Leah…oh…that poor girl…."

"Mom, I'll call Leah, this will all be okay but yelling won't-"

"You just keep in mind everyone who wasted their time out there for hours and hours looking for you. You just remember that Samuel."

"Mom…" he was at a loss for words.

He sat while his mother continued to scream at him. She called Charlie Swan to let him know that Sam was home. He listened as they spoke.

"I…I don't know Charlie. He won't say…he…he seems different. I just…I don't know why…he's never done anything like this…I know…I know…yes…yes of course. I'm not sure if he…that's not like Sam to hang out with that crowd…he's such a good boy…I know…I'm not sure if he would ever do that…but…sure….Okay…thank you Charlie, bye."

He cringed from his spot on the couch as he listened to Charlie Swan ask his mother if he was hanging out with a bad crowd, or if she thought it could be drugs. Sadly, drug use was no foreign subject on the reservation. They had several drug dealers who peddled their poison in La Push, but Sam had never dared pay attention to them. That stuff wasn't for him.

He sat on the couch for several hours, his mind and body both completely exhausted. By the time he went into his bedroom for the night, he had given up trying to think of any logical excuses he could give her. Several times he even thought about lying. Settling into his bed, he marveled at how comfortable it was. Sure, the forest floor hadn't been as bad as he thought it would be, but his bed was ten times better.

Stripping off his clothes, he took a few deep breaths to cool down. It felt weird to sleep naked suddenly – he never had before but clothes made him too hot to even relax. He had struggled to keep a shirt on while his mother yelled at him – he was burning up the entire time. He almost felt like they would have melted off his body if he didn't get them off soon.

He laid there, the sheets pulled up around his waist and his hands folded behind his back. Sam wasn't really in the mood to sleep after the last few days. He felt horrible for lying to his mother – she had actually told Charlie Swan that she wasn't entirely sure if drugs weren't to blame for his strange absence.

_My mom thinks I'm doing drugs. Can this get any worse?_

Shame burned through his already hot body as he tried to relax enough to sleep. Maybe things would look better in the morning.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Sam had been back for a week. So far, nothing had happened. He still felt strange but he managed not to morph back into a giant wolf in the past seven days.

_Not bursting out of my skin to become a dog…check, _he thought wryly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leah turn and look at him worriedly. Sighing, he rested his hand on her thigh and rubbed his thumb across her silky thigh. She shifted on the couch, moving towards him a little. He cringed inwardly, knowing what she wanted.

Since he had been back, things had been different with Leah. She had been relieved to see him return safely, but she had then promptly punched him in square in the jaw, threatening to do worse if he did that again. That was the only time he had begun to shake again. He had been scared to death to be around anyone since then – he had cashed in what little vacation time he had down at the mill to take a few days to clear his mind, so at least work wasn't a problem.

Leah had been more hurt than angry with him actually. He and Leah had told each other everything about themselves and they rarely kept secrets. Sam felt awful lying to his beautiful girlfriend. It was a shitty thing to do and he knew it.

He continued to rub her thigh as he tried to nonchalantly watch the TV. He wasn't even entirely sure what they were watching. They had been sitting there awkwardly for the past hour, avoiding much talking.

When Leah moved closer to him, his heart warmed but then nearly broke as he realized he couldn't give her what she wanted. They hadn't been intimate since his return and with good reason. The idea of losing control in any shape or form scared the crap out of him – what if it happened again? He would hurt Leah, and he wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he did that.

"Sam…" she crooned, nuzzling her nose into his hot arm. "You're so warm," she mumbled, rubbing her smooth hand over his bicep. He closed his eyes as her soft hands moved over his sore muscles. He had been growing nonstop for several weeks now, not much to his surprise. Nothing really shocked him that much anymore.

"I know," he said curtly, yanking his arm away. He just wanted to be alone right now, but felt bad that he had been avoiding Leah. She still looked just as worried for his return as she had when he had disappeared.

"Sam…what's wrong with you?" she repeated. She had asked him that every day since he came back.

"Lee Lee…I don't wanna talk about it," he said softly, taking her hand in his. She looked down at their joined hands and sighed.

"I can't make you talk to me," she said finally, leaning back against the couch. He gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Leah…I just…I don't feel like myself."

"What does that even mean? Sam…your mom asked me if you were doing drugs and I said of course not, that's…that's crazy. But now…if she asked me again today Sam, I wouldn't be so sure."

Sam whipped his head to look at her incredulously. "So you think I'm on drugs now too? Excellent. Perfect, Leah. Just great. Thank you."

He jumped up from the couch as his fists began to shake. "Leah! Shut up already! I'm not on fucking drugs, alright? Are you happy?" He suddenly yelled.

Leah jumped from her position on the couch, shocked. Then, her eyes darkened as they ignited with anger and rage.

She jumped up too. "Don't you dare yell at me like that Sam Uley! I don't know who you think you are, but you don't speak to me like that!" she spat.

Sam fisted his shaggy hair, pulling at it. He didn't want to fight with Leah. Not at all. He loved her more than anything, more than life. Why could he not control himself?

The two teens looked up as Sam's mother walked into the house, dropping her purse on the counter. She eyed Sam and Leah in the living room, noticing that the tension could but cut with a knife.

"I'm leaving," Leah hissed, snatching her bag off the coffee table. She brushed past Sam quickly, not bothering to kiss him goodbye. He felt a pang of hurt as he watched her blow out the door.

His mother sighed loudly in disgust and shook her head at him. "Something's going on with you Sam, and you know I'd give anything to help you."

"You can't help me with this," he growled at her. His fists began to shake again as he stood there staring his mother down.

"Sam…something is wrong. Please? Everyone at work…."

"What?" he demanded.

"Everyone at work is talking," she said finally. "They said you've…started running with a bad crowd. Janis said that her boy started…acting different when he…started using."

Sam exploded. "It's not drugs!" he hollered. "Why won't anyone believe me when I say that it's not drugs? It's not, okay? Just leave me alone, I'm going through a hard time, just…just….argghhh!" he gasped, racing outside. He slammed the screen door behind him, letting it bang on the wooden door frame.

He heard his mother start to cry inside. Shaking his head, he stomped back to the small garage that he used as workshop. He had always liked to build things with his hands, but lately nothing seemed to help him. He couldn't even concentrate long enough to focus on one thing, let alone finish something.

Sam flopped down on the squeaky chair in the corner, resting his head in his hands. How had everything fallen apart so quickly?

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

A few days later, Sam was still avoiding everything and everyone. His vacation time at work had ended two days ago. His boss, Harry Clearwater, had called him several times, but he just didn't feel like answering. He knew that Harry would be wondering where the hell he was – Sam hadn't missed a day of work in the two years he had been working for him. Sam was ashamed to be dealing with Harry like such a coward, but he wasn't sure what else he could do.

He still felt…strange. Something wasn't right when it came to his body – he still didn't feel like himself since he had turned into a wolf, which he still couldn't really explain. Every night he would lie awake for several hours, trying to decide what to tell himself, much less everyone else. His mother came home every day from her work as medical secretary after talking with the other women, and each day she had a new theory. Anger and embarrassment would wash over him with every new idea she brought home.

However, today she came home and was silent as she moved around in the kitchen. He was slumped in his usual spot on the couch when she finally moved into the living room. The house was so quiet he could have heard a pin drop.

"Sam," she said. Her voice was short and final sounding.

"What?" he mumbled, not looking up from the TV. He really wasn't in the mood to be bothered. His whole body ached and had been troubling him all week. Everything hurt.

His mother pursed her lips in thought as she sat down on the couch, a safe distance away from him.

"Sam…some of the tribe's elders-"

"Aw, mom, come on…."

"Sam, it's for the best. They want to talk to you. Harry called me at work today – he's so worried about you Sam. You haven't been to work and Harry…he just wanted to talk to with some of the others."

"Why?" Sam demanded. He tossed the remote down to the coffee table with a clatter. He especially wasn't in any mood to speak with the tribal elders – not right now. They were always brought in as a last resort when local teens started acting up. All they would do is sit them down and talk to them about the 'Spirits' and the 'Brothers of the past' and things like that. They would spout off legends and tales of their ancestors, and then claim that they would frown down from the heavens at the troubled teen, should they be able to see what he was up to.

Sam thought it was a bunch of crap.

He respected it enough; if that was what some people of the tribe wanted to believe in and preach, then that was fine with him. He just didn't want to hear about it. Sure, he had listened to Old Quil talk about the legends and history of their tribe before, but that had been when he was a little boy and all that had interested him.

Sam sighed heavily. He was in no mood to talk to the elders.

There was a knock at the door, and Sam's mom jumped up to answer it. A few moments later, Billy Black, Harry Clearwater, Dan Ateara, and Old Quil Ateara Senior all walked into the small living room.

Sam looked at them for a moment before rising. Just because he was in a bad mood didn't mean he had to be rude to these old men. He at least owed them that.

He reached out to shake Old Quil's hand first. "'Afternoon," the old man said, grasping his hand. Suddenly, Sam felt the man's hand tighten around his own, much tighter than usual.

Sam looked down at his burning hot hand in alarm. _Maybe I shouldn't have let him touch me, _he though in a panic.

The other three men looked at Sam in concern as Quil's eyes widened. He grasped Sam's hand in amazement, shaking it slowly. His dark, old eyes were wide in question as he shook it. He looked from Sam's hand to his eyes. Suddenly, he dropped it.

"Sorry!" Sam said quickly, reaching out in alarm. Old Quil gave him a weak smile as he rubbed his own hand on his side.

"S'ok," he mumbled quietly, looking back at Sam.

Sam looked at the four men as they seemed to have a nonverbal conversation between them. Old Quil nodded, and Billy, Harry, and Dan all seemed to understand.

"What?" Sam asked frantically, looking between them.

They all said nothing.

"What's wrong with me?" Sam finally asked, his voice rising. He suddenly had the feeling that the four of them knew about his little problem.

"Nothing is wrong with you," Harry said gently. "But my suspicions have been confirmed."

"What?" Sam asked. His heart began to race. He glanced down at his hands and realized that they were beginning to shake.

_Oh no…no…not here…not now…they might be able to help me!_

Sam's mind raced as he fought to maintain control. Old Quil's eyes widened as he focused on Sam's shaking hands.

Sam rubbed his hands together, his eyes now wide as he backed away from the four men. He looked to the kitchen - his mother was there. This couldn't be happening. Whatever happened to him the first time that he exploded was happening again.

"No…I…." he swallowed nervously, sucking in several deep breaths.

"Calm down, my boy," Old Quil said cautiously, holding out a hand.

Sam sucked in some more breaths of air, trying to focus. His hands started to slow as the four of them exchanged another knowing look.

"What's…going o-on?" Sam stuttered, his eyes wide. He was scared – that was the closest he had come to…exploding since the first day.

"Are you alright?" Billy asked, looking at him strangely. Old Quil looked down at his hand that he had used to shake Sam's and nodded.

He said something in Quileute and Sam frowned as he fought to regain control of himself.

_It sounds like he said something about legends? Crap I should have learned better Quileute… _Sam thought as his breaths slowed. He tried not to let the fact that they were speaking regarding something he wasn't supposed to know about make him angry.

"Sit, my boy," Old Quil finally said. "We have much to talk about."

Sam looked at them questioningly, but suddenly had a strong sense that they might be able to confirm some of his worst fears.

_Could it be? Could the legends be true?_ He could only hope at this point. If they confirmed it for him, that would be the only thing at this point to save his sanity.

He met eyes with Old Quil as the elderly man sat down in the armchair across from him. The old man's dark eyes met his, and Sam sucked in a violent breath.

Sam frowned as the memories of bonfires as a child came flowing back into his mind. Tales of wolves and mortal enemies and changing to become warriors….it all came back to him in clear detail. They weren't legends at all, just as he had feared. Old Quil cleared his throat to speak, and Sam looked up at him.

He only had to glance briefly into his old eyes to know – _it was all true._

_x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

Well I hope I didn't disappoint! I hope I was at least able to keep you straight team-vamp girls happy while I write the wolves. My lovely beta is a vamp girl, and she said that her hatred of the wolves is lessening due to these chapters about them (haha love you beta)

So I hope you all enjoyed Sam. Trying to write his confusion about his first phase was very hard, so I hope I came close and did it justice. Sorry for all the cursing, but I couldn't imagine that he wouldn't be freaked – those wolf boys have dirty mouths ; )

I tried to weave as much of Leah into the fic as possible because I love her character, so I hope my Leah fans were happy with that.

a *HUGE* thank you to my lovely beta, **Rain-It-Shall** for betaing this fic (like I said, even though she is a vamps only girl) and for doing such a lovely job of it. ** Please check out her fics - she writes a great Edward, and her one shots are esp. cute!**

Please review! I really want to know what ppl thought about the wolves, as Sam is the first one. Paul is next, followed by Jared!


	9. Paul : September 2005

**Author's Note:**

Okay guys, I give you Paul. Paul is notorious for his short fuse and his hot temper, so please keep that in mind while reading. There is some vulgar talk, some swearing, and some rather negative aspects to his story. I tried to get inside his mind and try to figure out why he is so volatile, yet can turn around and be loyal and likeable. This is what I came up with.

I will warn you, he does get called a derogatory name in his story – it sets him off pretty bad. In no way does it reflect my feelings about Native Americans – Just a story, okay? I imagine that whatever makes him phase for the first time would have had to set him off pretty bad. Don't get too worried though – Paul has his reasons for doing what he does, and I still think he is a strong character. I just think he has a short fuse on top of his loveable smart ass : )

**Just an FYI – when the wolves speak to each other through their mind link, the font will be italicized.**

Enjoy!

**Paul**

**(September)**

Paul crinkled his nose slightly as he fought to swallow the hard liquor. He glanced around the smoky little bar, hoping that no one saw him wince at the flavor of the alcohol.

He didn't normally drink. Ever.

In fact, this was the first time he had even been close to being buzzed in his entire life. His friend Ezra had given him the fake ID a few weeks ago, and this was the first time Paul had had the balls to actually try to use it.

The fight with his father earlier that evening had been the worst one yet. His father was quite the drinker himself, hence Paul's initial hesitation to give the stuff a try. However, after their last blowup, he was convinced that he needed a drink. Or twelve.

He had come up to La Push's seedy little Village Tap, and the somewhat believable fake ID had gotten him eight Jack and Cokes so far. He knew he wasn't all the way drunk yet because he still minded and noticed the flavor of the harsh alcohol.

Yes, all in an effort to forget about his father and their stupid fights. Honestly, he couldn't even remember now what had started their latest 'white trash throw down' as he referred to them. Paul would say something smart ass and rude, then his father would lecture him on being an immature punk, then Paul would fire back with something about his father being a lazy jackass…then usually one of them would throw something. Their brawls usually ended in the front yard as Paul jumped into the car they shared and tore out of the driveway. Obscenities usually ensued.

He raised up his glass, shaking it so that the ice tinkled against the sides.

"Gee, does that mean you want another?" the bartender asked sarcastically.

He nodded and slammed the glass back down on the counter. As his thoughts wandered back to his father, he made a face and looked away in disgust. He hated drinking, but it was the only thing that took his mind off his troubles. His mother lived with her boyfriend up in Makah, and she was never around. Living with her wasn't an option anymore – she had her own life to live, and Paul wasn't about to pile all the details of his shitty life on his poor mom. She had lived with his drunk of a father for years before finally leaving him when Paul was thirteen.

She had moved in with her new boyfriend a few months later. Paul's sacrifice had been to let her go and live her own life for awhile. He had made it practically all the way through high school without her, but it was times like this that he needed her support.

He couldn't blame her for leaving because, honestly, if he could too, he would have years ago. Living with an alcoholic, abusive father wasn't his idea of a good time either.

His father had always been a drunk; there was no way around it. As much as it had embarrassed him all his life, he was used to it. He was used to his dad showing up buzzed to his football games, stumbling up to the bleachers. He was used to having to pick him up at the bar, wasted. He was used to their refrigerator at home only housing beer, beef jerky, and whisky. However, he had never gotten used to the pain that his father being an alcoholic has caused.

Paul watched the brown liquid swirl together in the glass tumbler as the bartender poured. He met her eyes as she pulled the bottle back up, giving him a knowing look.

"Drowning some sorrows are we?" she asked. The woman was older, and obviously onto his charade – he was clearly not twenty one, and they both knew it.

"You could say that," he mumbled, raising the glass to his lips. "Can you leave the bottle?" he asked softly.

She eyed him sternly for a moment, and then her expression softened. "Sure. If you promise not to drive anywhere," she finally said.

"I walked."

"Okay, then."

She scribbled his tab down on the piece of paper, and he looked down at the worn top of the bar. He was actually glad that she had let him drink – she felt sorry for him and he knew it. Paul was a senior in high school, and La Push was small enough that she probably knew him. Not that it mattered. It wasn't very crowded in the small place that night. A few people sat at the small wooden tables, and not very many people were sitting at the bar. The jukebox was silent.

Paul took another long sip of the last of his Jack and Coke before pouring the brown liquid straight into the glass, sans mixer. He gulped it down, wishing to stop his mind from remembering the events from earlier that night.

Earlier, he had been in his bedroom, doing a rare dash of homework when his father had come home from work in a recognizable mood. They had fought about the car being low on gas or something stupid and trivial like that, and Paul had blown up at him. He remembered how his fists had shaken and clenched as his father's voice had gotten louder and louder.

He turned his head as a group of other teenagers came in. Paul recognized them as some boys that were seniors from Forks High school. He had played them in football earlier in the year, and he was instantly irritated that they were there. His hand shook a little as he raised the glass of Jack to his lips and gulped the rest of it down.

Their voices rang out in the small bar as the group of four laughed and yelled all the way up to the bar. Paul glared over his shoulder as one of them began playing some loud, annoying rap music on the jukebox.

_I just want some fucking peace and quiet. _

He turned his head back around to try to calm himself. Instead, he focused on the brown liquid as it shook in the glass. Reaching over, he tried to steady his hand, but instead the anger seemed to heat up and boil in his stomach. The louder the annoying group of boys got, the hotter his rage grew.

The sound of his own teeth grinding rang in his head as he gripped the glass in his hands. He was so angry that he didn't even notice when it cracked, shattering a few seconds later. Paul barely flinched as he wiped his hand on his jeans and glared over his shoulders again. The group of boys hadn't noticed him yet.

The bartender looked at him nervously as she visibly debated whether or not to wipe up the spilt whisky and broken glass that now lay in front of him. She stayed put as she watched Paul's obvious anger grow.

The four boys made their way up to the bar, laughing and yelling the whole way. Their annoying behavior was quickly getting on his nerves. They had obviously already been drinking a little bit; Paul could smell liquor on them as well. He uncapped the bottle of liquor in front of him, taking a swig right from the mouth of it.

"Boys," the bartender acknowledged them.

"Four Bud Lights. Make it snappy," one of them sneered at her.

Paul ground his teeth again. He shuddered slightly as his lungs tightened. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and deep breaths were what he desperately needed right then. He knew he needed to calm down before his hot temper got the best of him, but he was having a lot of difficulty at the moment.

"Come on!" the other jeered at the bartender. She just shook her head and popped the tops off the beers. She looked like she was going to ask them to see some ID, but thought better of it.

They were standing in a small cluster just five feet away from him. His hands began to shake again as he gripped the wooden rail of the bar, still trying to look as natural as possible. Anger boiled inside of him as the annoying rap song pounded in his ears.

The bartender silently placed an empty glass in front of Paul, and he nodded in acknowledgement at her for giving him a new one.

"What does it take to get some shots in this place?" one of the boys asked loudly.

"Just ask," the bartender snapped. "Do I look like a mind reader?"

"Easy sweetheart…you're kinda sassy. You're old enough to be my grandmother!" the other one laughed.

Paul pressed his lips together and blew a breath out of his nose as he tried to regain control. It wasn't helping.

The bartender said nothing, only pausing to give the four young boys an annoyed glance.

Paul looked at them sideways, his eyes unblinking and harsh.

"You got a problem there _Squanto?"_

That was it. It seemed to happen in slow motion after that. Paul's fist quickly connected with the first boy's face before the word was fully off his lips. He yelped out in pain as he fell to the floor, passing out cold.

His three friends gaped at Paul for a moment in surprise before all the alcohol they had consumed gave them their courage. Paul ducked and tossed his barstool down in front of them just in time to miss the first offensively placed punch.

"Get him!" The second boy shouted. The bartender shrieked as Paul tossed another barstool in between him and the other boys, and everyone else in the tiny bar moved off to the side to give them some space to fight.

"Stop it! Stop it I said!" she hollered. Paul's rage only grew as they all moved to the center of the small room, the three boys circling him. He panted and began to shake again as the drunken bodies moved around, taunting him.

"You got a problem there, son?" one of them jeered. The jukebox was still silent as they circled him, kicking chairs out of the way while they moved around him.

"Yeah, he seems a little moody, don't he?" another one added in. The last boy didn't even have to say anything. His cocky expression alone was enough to send Paul into another rage.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, white boy," Paul growled so fiercely his own tone surprised him momentarily.

Lunging, he grabbed the first boy around the neck and slammed his face down onto the table. He was grabbed by the back of his shirt collar and pulled away from him, getting his own body pushed against one of the wooden tables. It splintered under his weight and crashed to the ground.

Paul shook his head to clear it after the blow, and then kicked his legs out quickly, taking two of them down. The first boy was coming to again, and moved over Paul to deliver several quick punches to his jaw. Paul grabbed him by the shirt and rolled him over to straddle him and return the blows he had just been given.

"Ahh!" he gasped as he felt someone jump on his back.

The fight continued for several more minutes before Paul was able to grab a beer bottle and smack it on the corner of a table. He held it out to defend only to feel something being sprayed in his eyes that practically paralyzed him. He fell to the floor, furiously rubbing his eyes in defeat. He could hear the groans of all the boys around him as they all fought the fiery substance in their eyes.

"You boys!" the voice groaned, yanking them all apart.

"I'm sorry, I had to do something before they ripped the place apart!" He heard the bartender yell.

"Don't worry Scarla, it's our job. Outside, now!"

He felt himself being pulled up and moved outside into the crisp night air with the rest of his attackers.

_Shit. Cops,_ he thought.

"They started it," Paul mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"Shut it," the cop grumbled, slamming him up against the hood of the car. Paul groaned as he felt the cold metal of the handcuffs being secured around his wrists. And it would only go downhill from there.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

"Your bail has been posted. GET UP!" a voice roared.

Paul groaned and opened his eyes. His head was pounding, and it felt like his brain had been shoved through a meat grinder. Staggering slightly, he stood and straightened up. Besides being a little stiff and sore from sleeping on a jail cell floor all night with a slight hangover, he felt okay. The police officer led him out of the cell to a desk, where he began his paperwork.

Then, the officer did a double take.

"What?" Paul snapped at him. The officer raised one eyebrow and shook his head.

"You were pretty beat up when they brought you in this morning, but you look fine," he said slowly.

Paul frowned, looking down at his hands and arms. He had expected them to be beat up or at least a little cut and bruised from his antics last night, but they looked fine. He turned his arms over and over, looking at them in wonder. He grabbed a silver picture frame off the desk in front of him and looked at his reflection in the metal. His face was absolutely fine too. Not a scratch.

"_Weird_," he whispered, touching his cheek.

"Yeah," the cop said flatly. He finished the paperwork and shuffled him out to the waiting area where his father was waiting. Paul's stomach tightened as he took in the expression on his face. There was none. And that was not good.

The ride home was silent. Paul leaned his head on the cool glass of the passenger side window, wishing he could just be sucked into the cracked vinyl seats. But to no avail.

They arrived home to their tiny house, his father slamming the door shut behind him. Paul walked in next, and cringed as his father went to the fridge to grab a beer and crack it open. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that it wasn't even eight in the morning yet.

_Great._

He looked around their disheveled little house, shaking his head. It was a shell of what it used to be when his mother lived there. He had never noticed until she left what her little feminine touches had done to spruce it up and make it feel like home. Paul missed her at times like this more than ever.

"Dad-"

"No. You let me speak." His father gripped the aluminum can in his hand, his dark eyebrows furrowed.

Paul closed his mouth, his hazel eyes falling to the floor. He could already tell that this wasn't going to be pretty.

"This morning…consider that the last one."

"The last one what?"

"Handout."

Paul was speechless. His father had practically never given him anything, much less a handout.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

His father leaped out of his chair and slammed the beer down on the coffee table. "Don't you speak to me like that! I'm your father, and you better clean up that mouth of yours while you're talking to me, boy!"

Paul laughed bitterly. "You'd never know you were my father by the way you act!"

"You better watch it son…"

"Or what?" He challenged. He felt his fists ball up at his sides, his breath growing more ragged in his tightening chest.

"I might be older now but I'll still take you out back and kick your ass."

Paul snorted. "Nice thing to say to your son. And I'd like to see you try."

His father inhaled sharply, his dark eyes lighting up. "Times like this I understand why your momma left us."

That was the last straw.

"Me? You think she left because of me? You're a lousy drunk and you ran around behind her. I can't blame her one bit for leaving your sorry ass! Fucking piece of shit!" Paul growled, beginning to pace. His heart was racing in his chest, and he suddenly began to panic as it sped up even more.

"You better watch it-"

"Or what? You gonna take me out back and beat me? I'd like to see you try old man. I really would."

"You always were a smartass, Paul. Lousy, good for nothing-"

"She left because of you, and you can say whatever you want to about it, but you know the truth. She left because you were a shitty husband and an even worse father."

His dad was silent for a moment. They stood on opposite sides of the living room, both of them panting with anger.

His father was silent for a moment before taking another long swig of his beer. "I'm done with your lazy ass and bad attitude. You been takin' advantage of me for years. Get yer shit, and get out."

Paul's mouth fell open in shock. Then, he could practically feel the anger and rage boiling up in his veins as he stood in the living room with his father as he drank.

"You're kicking me out?" he hissed. "I'm still in high school and you're kicking me out?"

"Looks that way, don't it?" His dad asked him casually. "I'm sick of you and your crap. Getting caught in a bar and forcing me to have to bail your sorry ass out of jail? I'm not doin' it anymore, Paul."

"I'm your son!" Paul suddenly roared, smacking a lamp off the table next to him. It collided with the wall and crashed to the floor with a chunk of drywall.

His father was silent as they both seethed at each other for a moment.

"Get out. Get your shit and get out."

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Paul slung his bag over his shoulder as he walked down the empty streets of La Push. It was still early in the day and somewhat warm, but he knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. He would have to figure something else out.

After he had packed a bag of clothes, he had snuck out to the garage and grabbed a few bits of camping gear that still looked useable, but hadn't found much. After his father had sunk further into his alcoholism, much of the house and their belongings had fallen to the wayside.

"Piece of shit," he muttered under his breath as he began to walk. His boots scuffed along the road as he walked. He was dragging his feet because he knew he wasn't really in a hurry to get anywhere in particular.

Looking up at the sky, he grumbled to himself as it began to cloud up even more than before, a light drizzle falling.

_Figures_, he thought bitterly. He walked along the side of the road for a few miles, staring at his feet. The road he was on traced the edges of La Push, but that was fine with him. He didn't really feel like seeing anyone anyway.

Slowly, his mind drifted back to the night before. Between getting tossed into jail and having his father kick him out of the house, he hadn't really thought about what he had done at the bar. Paul had always had a short temper, but it had grown noticeably worse in the past few months. Silly, trivial things now set him off in the biggest temper tantrums that left him feeling like a testy two-year-old.

"Stupid shit," he mumbled to himself, kicking absently at a stray rock. When he reached the edge of town, he found himself on First Beach. Gratefully, it was practically empty of visitors, so he sat down against a fallen tree. He dumped his bags down on the ground, shrugging out of his shirt. Sweat beads rolled down the sides of his face, although he didn't really feel tired. Wiping them away, he frowned again as he realized how cold it was outside. The wind whipped off the waves and bit at his tan skin, but he realized that he felt almost…comfortable.

"Add that to the list," he muttered, crossing his ankles. He sat on the beach for several hours, thinking about the previous night. Regret and shame flashed through him as he replayed the scenes he could remember in his mind. He remembered cracking the bottle on the table, the shards of glass flying everywhere.

_Would I have really done something with a broken bottle? I could have killed someone with that. _

He winced when he realized that he already knew the answer – _yes._

Thinking back now, he couldn't remember why he was even so angry with them. They were just another group of teenage boys in a bar where neither party belonged. Loud, stupid peers had never really bothered him before. _Why did it bother him so much now?_

His hangover had gone away, and he realized that he would be very hungry soon. Glancing in his wallet, he pulled out several crumpled ones. That, mixed with the change in his pockets, added up to $12.76.

"Super," he muttered, shoving the crumpled money back into his wallet.

He squinted as he glanced up the beach. The sun was masked by a thin group of clouds; they were so thin that he could still see the outline of the sun through them.

His stomach grumbled loudly, and the meager lump of change in his pocket seemed to grow more and more daunting. He knew he wouldn't be able to survive on a little more than twelve bucks. _What the fuck am I gonna do? _He thought_. _

Glancing down at his hands, he turned them over in front of his face. They seemed…bigger. In fact, now that he thought about it, everything on his body seemed bigger. _Yes, everything_. He smirked with satisfaction when he thought about how _all _of his body parts had significantly grown in the past few months. He hadn't had a chance to test out his new 'equipment' as he referred to his newer, larger anatomy. His gut had told him that he should probably stay away from girls for a few weeks as he got used to his new hot temper. He had seen enough of his old man beating on his mom before she had left him that he wasn't about to risk that.

_I wouldn't ever hit a girl…I couldn't live with myself if I did that. Not like Dad…_

He had decided that it was just best to keep his distance. Lately, his father had given him enough emotional baggage to deal with that there wouldn't have been room for a girl if he wanted one.

_I just wish I understood why everything fucking pisses me off so much these days._

Frowning, he realized that it was a little strange that he had grown so much when he was this old. Normally, teenage boys grew when they were thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…but eighteen? It all just seemed strange to him.

_Not that I'm complaining,_ he thought. So far, his beefier body had come in handy, especially when it was paired with his hot temper. He had always been a bit short fused, but this was ridiculous. His temper had gotten so out of control that he usually needed his new muscles to get him out of trouble.

Paul had been in at least one fight a week at school for the past month. It was over stupid shit really; someone gave him a wrong 'look' or didn't move out of his way fast enough. These days, the smallest little thing was enough to set him over the edge to insanity and rage.

Before he knew it, it was beginning to get dark on the beach where he was sitting, and he knew he needed to do something about shelter for the night. He felt slightly panicky as he packed up his bags and tried to decide which way to go. Getting kicked out was a first; he had no idea what to do or where to go.

_Where the fuck am I gonna sleep? Shit…._

Annoyance danced at the front of his thoughts as he trudged down the beach, mentally listing off places to go. He had a few buddies he could probably crash with but would he want to explain that his drunk of a father had actually kicked him out?

_Great, now they'll think I'm an ever bigger piece of trash than they probably already do. Not what I need right now._

His stubbornness was not waning. He couldn't bite back his pride and ask one of his buddies from school for help. In his mind, that would just be flat out admitting that he was a complete loser.

Soon, he found himself in the woods of La Push. The tall, moss covered trees stretched up towards the sky, blocking out almost all of the remnants of the bleak sun up above. Ferns stretched and wound themselves into the underbrush that lined the forest floor, further expanding the green landscape. Tossing his bags to the ground, he sighed heavily as he surveyed the area. He was about fifty feet into the woods, just far enough from the beach that he could still pleasantly hear the waves crashing against the rocks, but it wasn't deafening.

Looking around the quickly darkening forest, he shuddered slightly. His body was still warm, strangely enough, but his nerves were starting to get the worst of him. Being out here all alone in the wilderness…it was quite daunting.

_Suck it up, ya wuss. So you have to camp a few nights! Big deal_..._you're a Native, this is what we do. Shouldn't be an issue…_

He stood in the woods, jutting his chin out defiantly. Looking around, he began to gather a few pieces of wood together to burn, hoping that they weren't too wet to make a fire. After digging in his pockets for some lint, he was able to get a decent sized fire going, much to his relief. At least if he had a fire he would be somewhat warm. Rolling out his thin sleeping bag, he glanced around the woods surrounding him.

It was almost dark now, and he knew that things in these woods changed when the sun went down. Animals would be out soon, looking for food – and they weren't just raccoons and rabbits. Bears, wolves, cougars….Washington had them all. He shuddered when he thought about being caught in the woods by a bear. Not many people survived to tell about bear attacks.

He leaned back against a tree, debating what to do next. If he could sleep out there for the night, then it might be possible to sneak into the locker room at school early enough to catch a shower.

_I'm now homeless and I'm worried about school…yeah Dad, I'm a pretty bad son, _he thought bitterly.

He was tired from his stressful day, and he soon drifted to sleep against the tree. He jerked awake several times in the night when a slightly sour, sickening smell wafted into his nose. He would sit up and gasp, looking around frantically…but would see nothing but the fire burning in front of him. Several times he had added more wood to the flames, hoping that it would deter any large animals from coming near him.

His heart pounded in his chest when he was startled awake, and each time he became more anxious than the last. When daylight finally started to creep into the woods, he relaxed a little. It had been a long night.

He passed his house on the walk back from the beach – he had to fight the urge to steal the car he and his father usually shared. Most mornings, he would drop his dad off at work and take the car to school. This morning, however, he noticed that his father was still home. Paul shook his head and kept walking. He was done there – done with that house, done with his father, and done with that part of his life. He had made up his mind after spending the night out in the woods.

Sneaking into the school was easy enough – he had been at the little reservation high school long enough to know how to break in when he needed to. He quickly showered in the locker room, trying his best to appear normal. The last thing he needed today was to get teased about being arrested and kicked out of his house. As he dressed, he only hoped that no one had heard about either occurrence.

Paul listlessly ghosted through most of school that day. His mind was consumed with panicky thoughts about where he would go and what he would do next. He had no family in town, and no friends that he was particularly close with. Sure, he had acquaintances and people he hung out with sometimes, but no real close buddies he could stay with. His pride would have stopped him from asking for help anyway.

As he sat in math class, he blankly looked at the students around him, specifically the girls. If only he had a girlfriend – maybe if he did he could have stayed with her. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought away. His temper would have been enough to scare any girl away, especially these days. None of the girls at the reservation school had ever really appealed to him anyway. They all just seemed…so immature. He didn't care for that – he had enough problems as it was and didn't need to be dealing with some immature sophomore's petty drama.

After class, he walked to his locker to switch out his books and try to make it look like he was paying attention in class, even though his mind was a million miles away.

"Heard you got into a little scuffle up at The Village Tap the other night, Paulie," the boy next to him, Scott, said.

Paul clenched his teeth and slammed his locker shut, coming face to face with his annoying classmate.

"Whoa, calm down," he laughed, shutting his own locker. He gave Paul a worried glance and looked like he immediately regretted bringing it up.

"I've told you like eighty times _not_ to call me 'Paulie' he growled. Before he could control himself, he grabbed the boy by the neck and slammed him up against the locker.

_Stop it! What are you doing you idiot? Not another fight! _His mind screamed at him. Paul knew he couldn't afford to get into another fight, not with being arrested the day before.

However, there was another side, another voice that echoed after his conscience.

_Who is he to talk to you like that? He deserves it. Get him…._

A low, guttural growl escaped his throat as he pushed Scott up against the orange lockers, his grip tightening. Scott flailed and kicked beneath him, his eyes wide.

Students around them moved to the side with amazed glances as they watched Paul torture Scott.

"Dude, let him go!" Another student yelled, pulling at Paul's shoulder.

"Stop it!" a girl shrieked. Out of the corner of his mind, he realized that a lot of people were witnessing yet _another _unexplainable outburst, and he fought to regain control of himself. With a dissatisfied grunt, he flexed his hand one last time and then let his grip go. Scott fell to the floor, his dark brown eyes wide as he gasped for breath. The color in his face soon returned to normal, and Paul backed away.

The whispers began, and the students filtered away from him as he stalked down the hallway.

_Shit._

_x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x_

Later that night, Paul fumbled in his pocket for the granola bar he had saved from lunch. He had already eaten the sandwich and the soda he had gotten from the school lunch line, and he was already hungry again.

Paul had returned to his campsite not far from First Beach, and his fire had restarted without much trouble. He was still hungry, but that was the least of his worries. It was getting dark again, and tonight the animals in the woods around him were more active than they had been the night before.

Off in the distance, a wolf howled. The sound made the hairs on his arms stand up as he leaned against the tree, staring into the flames. He looked around, suddenly very paranoid.

_Relax. You were fine last night, you'll be fine tonight. Just chill the fuck out. _

He drifted to sleep after awhile, his hands clenched at his sides. He had his hunting knife beside him on the ground just in case, but he knew that wouldn't save him if something large decided that he was dinner.

He frowned as he slept. In his dreams, a pair of hazel animal eyes was watching him sleep from the tree line. Its breath showed up as puffs of white in the chilly night air. Then, the pictures changed. Instead, the legends of his forefathers that his dad had told him when he was little swirled inside his mind. The dark skinned men in his dreams began to move and change in the dream as they became large, dark shapes that he couldn't identify.

Then, one of them lunged at him suddenly in his dream. As it came closer to his face, the strange dark shape took the form of a white and grey wolf, baring its teeth and snarling.

"Ah!" he gasped, sitting up straight. His eyes were wide as he grabbed the knife and gripped it tight. Something rustled in the trees behind him, and he leaped up to his feet, his eyes even wider than before.

His heart pounded in his chest as he searched the dark woods with his eyes, his hands starting to shake. Suddenly, the sound was on the other side of the small clearing.

It rustled the leaves, and he caught a glimpse of something. Then, it was on the other side again, breaking a twig. A few seconds later, he heard another rustling of leaves off to the right.

Whatever it was, it was taunting him. Circling him…_like prey._

Paul breathed deeply, his hands still shaking. He looked around the tree line of the clearing incredulously as he realized that it wasn't fear that was making him shake. It was anger. He was angry that whatever it was in the woods was teasing him, testing his patience. He became aware that his gut wanted whatever it was to come forward so that he could _fight _it.

_What the fuck? I want to fight it? What has gotten into me!_

Suddenly, a rumbling growl escaped his lips as he stood in the center of the clearing beside his fire, slightly crouched like he was ready to spring. Another twig snapped behind him, and he whirled around quickly to see nothing.

Another few noises sounded in the darkness, and soon Paul was panting with rage.

"Show yourself!" he growled as a strange tremor wracked his spine. He winced as it continued up into the back of his head, making him shake even harder.

Looking down at his hands, his mouth fell open as they began to blur wildly. He faintly heard another rustle in the leaves behind him, further igniting his anger.

"Ah!" he groaned in pain. The next tremor of fury lifted him from his feet as it ripped through his body, making him cry out again. Fire ripped up his spine for the second time, and for a moment he actually thought he had fallen into his small camp fire.

Then, Paul hit the ground. On all fours.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

_Holy shit it worked. Huh._

Paul looked up suddenly, jumping slightly. The pain was gone, but…something was definitely off. He looked around as he tried to determine where that voice had come from. He hadn't said anything…or thought anything. There was definitely something there.

He tried to say _'Hello?'_ but instead he heard an animal whining. Jumping again, he felt something large and fluffy dart beneath his back legs.

_Holy shit!_

He then realized that he was on all fours. _As an animal._

_What the fuck? _His mind screamed at him. Something was wrong…very, very wrong.

_I can't believe it really worked. I thought you would never phase._

He looked around in fear, this time realizing that he indeed had not spoken. He couldn't speak. He was…_some sort of animal._

_Wolf, _the voice answered.

_What? What is that? What…am I hearing voices_? He thought in a panicked flurry of thought.

_No…it's me. Don't attack me, okay? _

The voice in his head was calm, but slightly excited. He could sense that it didn't want to hurt him, but he still didn't exactly trust it.

_What? Attack? _

_Just...just don't. Stay still. You have a knife in your leg._

Paul glanced down with his large, animal head at the mild stinging in his left leg and realized he had stabbed himself when he…changed. Wincing, he heard himself whine as he realized he no longer had hands to use to pull it out. Limping slightly, he tried to sit but soon abandoned that idea.

He heard a twig break in front of him, and he snapped is head up and widened his eyes that could now see much better in the dark. That's when he saw it. A large, horse sized black wolf slowly emerged from the underbrush, his head dipped low and his tail raised up straight and wagging from side to side slightly. Paul wasn't sure why, but seeing the animal's tail wagging slightly set him a little more at ease.

_Instinct, _the voice answered.

_What? _Paul thought.

_Instinct_, the loud, deep voice answered. It had a distinct sound in the tone of it that made him calm a little, but he was still panicked to be hearing it in first place.

_What is that?_

_It's me,_ the voice said. The animal in front of him wagged his tail and barked softly, his eyes lighting up.

Paul's eyes widened for a moment as he realized that the voice was coming from the large animal in front of him.

_We're…linked mentally. The voice you hear is mine. I'm Sam._

_Holy shit that giant wolf is talking to me!_

The huge black wolf rolled his eyes and sat back on his haunches, wrapping his tail around him at his feet. He yawned, exposing his rows of sharp, white teeth.

_Holy shit…_ Paul thought, stumbling back.

_You know, you can talk to me and not about me. I'm right here. _

_What...what…can you...hear me?_ Paul thought.

_What part of 'mentally linked' do you not get?_

_So…you can really hear me and talk to me? We can talk to each other?_

The large animal rolled his eyes again_. Yes. Now are we going to get that knife out of your leg or not?_

Paul glanced back down at the blade that was wedged in his back thigh and winced as he was reminded of the burning pain that was steadily growing.

_Ulgh…yes._

_Don't bite me._

_Huh?_

_I'm going to pull it out with my teeth. Just don't bite me._

The large, black wolf moved slowly closer to him, and Paul felt the hair on his back stand up.

_Stop it,_ the voice commanded. Paul felt himself instantly relax. Now it was Sam's turn to be amazed.

_Wow, I really am the Alpha. He did exactly as I said…whoa…the Elders weren't lying._

_Lying about what? What's going on? _

_Shut up and hold still. _

Paul cringed as he felt Sam's powerful jaws close around the handle of the blade, and he actually heard himself yelp as Sam yanked it out and dropped it to the ground.

_Will I need stitches? What the…what am I going to do? I stabbed myself!_

He felt the panic start to rise in his chest as he glanced back at the blood wound in his grey fur.

_Just relax…and watch this…_ Sam said.

Paul turned his new wolf head to look back at his leg. His jaw fell open as he watched the gash in his fur slowly close up and scab over, the fur around it molding back into place slowly.

_What the…_

_We heal fast,_ Sam said flatly to him in his head.

_What the fuck…._ Paul muttered to himself. He looked back at the animal in front of him. _Uh…thanks? I guess…what…wow, this is weird._

_I know. I just can't believe someone else phased. This is incredible!_ The deep voice rumbled happily.

_Wait...phased? What are you talking about?_

The black wolf sat back down a few feet away, opening his mouth to let his tongue hang out the side lazily.

_Yeah...phase. That's what you just did, and it's what I did, too. I've been waiting for someone else to do it for a long time._

_Wait...you mean...you're a human, too?_

The black wolf closed his mouth and growled softly, an annoyed expression on his animal face.

_Did you think I was born like this? A mentally talking wolf? Do you normally talk to other giant dogs you find in the woods?_

_Well...no,_ Paul admitted. _But…this isn't normal. What's going on?_

_It's a long story. Follow me._ The large animal stood, moving through the woods. Paul stumbled a few times, but quickly got the hang of walking on all fours. He followed the black wolf to the edge of the forest where he paused.

_Gotta check to make sure no one is out here…_

_Why?_

Sam turned around and looked at him, his wolf eyes wide. _What would you do if you saw a horse-sized wolf walking down the beach?_

_Okay Okay…_

Sam led him down to the tide pools that lined the rocky shore, and the two of them slunk up behind a large group of boulders.

_Look down._

Paul gave him a skeptical glance before leaning over and looking at his reflection in the glassy, shallow water.

_Holy shit…is...is that me?_

Sam nodded. _Yup._

_I'm a…a wolf. A HUGE wolf. What. The. Fuck._

_You finally changed. Took you long enough…But…you're a wolf now, just like me. _

_Forever?_

The animal moved its head from side to side. _No, not forever. We can change back._

_So we're werewolves? _

_No. Not werewolves. Shape shifters. Didn't you pay attention to the legends?_

Paul's mind moved back to his father telling him the tribal legends when he was a child. His memories were blurry and fuzzy, as he didn't remember hearing them much after his dad began drinking and avoiding tribal meetings and family gatherings.

_Oh…sorry to hear that,_ Sam thought.

Paul's mind reeled. _Wait…you heard that? I mean...you saw that?_

_About your dad? Yeah. You thought about it, didn't you? Wow, this _is _a little weird, _Sam thought.

Paul was instantly angry. _You stay outta my head.  
_

_I'm starting to wish I could,_ Sam said. The large black wolf stood up, swishing his tail in an irritated manner.

_The last thing I need is for you to throw a temper tantrum. You seemed irritable-_

_What are you talking about?_

_I was watching you for a few days. Dad kick you out?_

_Wait, what? You've been watching me?_

The wolf nodded. _Yeah….Harry told me that a large teenage guy got arrested at the Village Tap the night before last for starting a fight. So I went over to your house and heard your dad kick you out. You've been camping._

_You saw all that?_

_Yeah. Sorry man…That sucks. My dad left me and my mom, too, _Sam admitted.

_Hey, I don't blame my mom for leaving. You stay out of it, _Paul snapped at him.

_Whatever, just…I had to hang around 'cause we all thought you would phase soon._

_Who's 'we'? _Paul asked indignantly.

_The tribe's elders. They told me to watch for someone else to phase and when I heard about the fight…and then when I saw you, I knew._

_Wait...saw me?_ Paul's mind flashed to his growth spurt…the heat…the shaking…the anger fits…

_Yeah. That's it alright. You didn't think you grew a foot and gained like a hundred pounds of muscle for no reason? Yeah right. Wishful thinking, sport._

_Okay, alright…so you were in the woods? Is that why I was so pissed?_

_Um, yeah. The wolf tends to bring that side of us out._

_So that's normal?_

The black wolf nodded. _Unfortunately. You can learn to control it though, or at least that's what Harry says. _

_Harry?_

_Yeah…Harry is my girlfriend's…father._

_Why do you say it like that? 'Girlfriend'?_

Paul watched as Sam's mind flashed to a picture of a familiar looking Native American girl. She was pretty, especially through Sam's thoughts. Paul stumbled a little as he watched Sam's mind flash to her long, raven colored hair, her dark brown, almond shaped eyes…her long, shapely legs…her perfect tan breasts…

_Holy shit!_ Paul laughed.

_Crap! Fuck, I did not mean to think about that…shit…_

_What the fuck was that?_

The black wolf tucked his tail between his legs and Paul watched in awe as Sam tried unsuccessfully to push the thought of Leah's breasts to the back of his mind.

_Wait no, I wanna see that, that chick is hot-_

Paul didn't have time to finish the thought before Sam snarled and bared his teeth. He lunged at Paul, and he panicked for a brief second. Then, something else entirely happened.

Paul jumped to attention, the hair on his hackles rising up. He heard an awful snort and then a deep, guttural warning growl that was so terrifying it almost scared him.

_Take it back!_ Sam ordered.

_What?_ Paul feigned innocence.

_You heard me! Take it back!_ Sam grumbled.

_She's hot, man, not gonna lie…_Paul thought menacingly. Sam snapped mid-air at his flank, and Paul skittered out of the way. He raised up his paw as he tried in vain to punch the wolf in front of him, and he grew even more angry when he heard Sam laugh at him in his head.

_Nice try, pup,_ Sam sneered.

_Come over here and say that!_ Paul shot back, feeling his ears flatten. Sam lunged at him then, sending them toppling over each other on the rocky beach. The first time Sam's jaws bit down on his new, tough flesh, Paul yelped out more in surprise than pain.

_Serves you right!_

_If you didn't want me to see it, then why did you show it to me?_ Paul asked as he rolled to his feet. He shook his head, trying to get his bearings back.

_It was an accident, you ass! Now stop thinking about it! Leah will kill me and I'm already in enough shit as it is._

_She mad that you're sharing?_ Paul jeered.

Paul watched again as Sam thought about all the late nights, cancelled dates, and unexplained absences flashing through his mind.

_That sucks, bro._

_Yeah, I'm in enough trouble, so stop fucking thinking about my girlfriend naked!_

_You started it…and no complaints here, by the way. I'll have to say hi to her at school tomorrow,_ Paul laughed.

Sam growled at him, a vicious snort escaping from his black snout_. I already don't like you…_

_Never said you had to,_ Paul sneered.

He heard Sam sigh in his head. _You have no idea…_

Paul thought for a moment, the mental picture of a naked Leah popping up to the front of his mind. Sam lunged at him again, his eyes black as coal and his teeth bared once again.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Paul glared at Sam through his new eyes.

The two had finished their scuffle and were licking their rapidly healing wounds back in the woods at Paul's campsite.

_Was that really necessary?_

_Think about it again and I'll kick your ass,_ Sam growled to him.

Paul ran his rough tongue over a gash in his paw that Sam had left with his teeth.

_This is disgusting,_ he said with a wince as he licked at the blood.

_It helps it heal faster. Stop whining._

Paul moved to sit up on his haunches, quickly forming questions in his mind.

_Okay…so how do we change back?_

Sam looked up at him from his own battle wounds, and began to pant nervously. Paul watched as he tried to push certain memories of living like a wolf for days at a time from his mind. Paul felt himself begin to panic.

_What do you mean? It's hard to switch back? Will I be like this forever?_

Sam sighed in his head. _No. It isn't permanent. If you concentrate and calm yourself, you can change back. It's like…riding a bike._

_Spare me_, Paul snapped.

_Fine then. I'm just saying...it gets easier to change back._

_Okay, so how do I do it?_

_You probably won't be able to for a few days. It took me three or four days to calm down enough to do it. _

_Okay…_ Paul shifted on the ground, his head darting to the side when he noticed his tail moving beside him.

_It's involuntary_, Sam thought to him. He glanced down at his own tail, which was now lying flat on the ground.

_Weird,_ Paul thought. _Okay, so you've told me the how…now tell me the why. _

Paul watched once again as Sam tried to push thoughts out of his mind.

_Why are you doing that?_

_Doing what?_

_Trying not to think about…what is that? What…_

Sam winced as images flashed through his mind of meetings with the tribal elders. They had sat Sam down and told him about why he changed..

_You've got to be shitting me._

Sam sighed in his head. _I wish I was. It's all true…the legends and stories…the cold ones._

_You mean…there really are such a thing as vampires?_

_I'm afraid so. That is why we change, and that is why you and I have begun to phase. They're back in the area, more rampant than ever, and it's our duty as wolves to protect our people._

_Just like the legends.._

_Yes. _

Paul's mind reeled again as he fought to bring back the memories of the stories he had heard about their tribe. They had always been taught that the cold ones were so evil…

Sam brought back the memory of the broken, drained body he had found a few weeks before, showing Paul the bite marks on her mangled neck.

_Leeches,_ Paul thought bitterly. _That's what they are. _

Sam nodded his wolf head, and the two were silent for awhile as Paul tried to come to terms with everything.

The legends were true. He was a werewolf…or shape shifter, as Sam called it. He was there to kill the cold ones.

The _vampires. _

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

For being as angry as he originally was, Paul was able to phase back after several hours. He winced in agony as his bones shifted and retracted, being sucked back into his spine. He was left on the ground in a quivering mass, his hazel eyes wide.

Standing up, he stretched and examined his tan skin. There were no marks from phasing, nor were there marks from fighting with Sam.

_Wow…I'm normal again. This is fucked up. _

He watched in amazement as the black wolf crouched slightly, morphing quickly into the body of a tall, tan-skinned, naked teenage boy. Sam gracefully went from all fours to standing upright in a matter of a few seconds.

He looked up at Paul, and Paul instantly recognized him. "Oh, I do know you!" he said after a few moments.

Sam looked at him strangely, then shook his head. "Here," he mumbled, tossing him a pair of worn basketball shorts. Paul looked down, a surprised gasp escaping his lips when he realized that he was _naked._

"What the-"

"Can't phase with clothes on – they get destroyed every time," Sam explained, pulling on his shorts.

Paul made a disgusted face and pulled on his own pair, standing upright. "Wow…I'm not even cold!"

Sam shook his head again as he wiped some dirt off his arms and torso. "Nah…the heat from the phase keeps us warm. Harry said my temperature is close to 107."

"Are you shitting me? How are we not…dead?"

Sam just shrugged. "No idea. How do we turn into giant dogs? Again…no idea."

Paul looked around the darkening forest, his eyes adjusting. "Wow…I can like…see and hear _everything_."

"Yeah…just a perk."

"Man…people aren't gonna believe this-"

Sam's large hand slammed against Paul's chest, surprising him. "No," he said firmly. "You cannot tell _anyone _about this. This is a tribe secret – only the elders know."

Paul looked at him in surprise. "Oh…fine," he grumbled, stepping away from Sam's hand. Sam looked sorry that he had been so blunt, but quickly shook it off.

Both boys glanced up at the trees that veiled the sky, surveying the light rain that had begun to fall.

"You can come stay at my place," he said. "My mom won't care…much."

"I don't wanna put you out," Paul spat out, still surprised that a guy he barely knew would offer such a thing.

Sam stopped walking and turned to look at him skeptically. "You have somewhere else to be?"

Paul thought a moment, glancing back at his long extinguished campfire and pile of belongings that were quickly getting soaked by the late evening mist.

"No," he said quietly, dipping his head. He strode back to the campsite, picking up his belongings and slinging them over his shoulder.

Sam watched, a somber look on his face. The two boys walked through the woods, barefoot and shirtless all the way back to Sam's mother's house, which wasn't far from the beach. They walked inside, and Sam led him to the couch where he would be sleeping.

"We have to meet with the elders tomorrow morning," Sam said. "They need to know about you."

Paul sat down on the soft couch, his tired body grateful to have a place to rest for a moment. "Cool. So…what do we do now?"

Sam just shrugged. "I usually patrol at night…that's when they come out and tend to strike. Harry mentioned that they can't be seen in the sunlight. I guess it gives them away."

"Really?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah…but…he also said that on a cloudy day they can come out, too. That's why they like it here – barely any sun, plenty of rain…they can pretend to be human."

"How will I know?"

Sam's nose winkled up as he stared blankly at the floor. "You'll know," he said softly.

The two boys sat there for a few hours, talking about the legends, the cold ones, and about being a wolf. Paul was still a little panicked about the whole thing, but tried his best to act like his normal macho self.

"How in the world did you do this by yourself?" Paul finally asked him as Sam settled into the armchair. He reclined back, sinking into the leather.

"It was…interesting. I freaked."

"Um, yeah…no shit," Paul muttered, lying down on the couch. Sam smiled to himself, but his tan face still looked drawn…and tired.

"It was very tough. I mean…I disappear all the time to go to meet with the tribal elders, and even though my mom still thinks I've gone crazy she knows that they're…'helping' me."

"Does she think…?"

"She thinks it was drugs. I disappeared for days and came back and I couldn't say what had happened. They all thought I was nuts."

Paul nodded. "I still feel like I'm dreaming," He admitted, listening to the sounds of the rain on the rooftop.

"Rest assured that you are not. That's what the hard part is. I had to figure out what to tell my mom, and Leah…luckily Harry was my boss at work."

"Was?"

"Yeah…" Sam said slowly, folding his hands behind his back. "I mean, you can't go to work. You shouldn't even really be around people for awhile. Not until you get things under control. It took me months to figure out how all of this…worked."

"Won't your mom be home soon?" Paul asked. Sam nodded.

"Yeah…"

"She won't mind I'm here?"

He shrugged. "She might, but what's she gonna do? I'll just tell her you needed a place to crash."

Paul looked at him, giving him a grateful nod. He was still a little weirded out by the idea of just crashing at a random dude's place, but anything was better than sleeping out in the rain. He would take what he could get.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

The next day, the two boys went and met with Harry Clearwater and Quil Sr. so that Paul could hear the legends again from Old Quil. Harry also explained to him the importance of protecting the tribe, and all that went along with it. Paul listened carefully as the two men spoke to him, and had begun to accept his fate.

"My boy…you two have been chosen by the forefathers of this tribe to continue on with the tradition of protecting the innocents from the demons that dwell nearby," Old Quil said with an official nod.

Paul glanced at Sam, and the two of them looked somberly ahead at Harry and Quil. Harry nodded in encouragement at Paul, and then Old Quil continued.

"You are now brothers, bound by the powers of the tribe. Go now, and rely on each other to protect and serve your people," he finished.

Paul nodded and stuttered out what Quileute farewells he could remember, and then he saw Sam stand to leave. Once inside Sam's truck, he looked over at him.

"Scared yet?"

Paul's determination flared up. "Hah, no. If they say that's what I'm meant to do, then I'll do it, simple as that."

Sam just clicked his tongue and turned onto the main road in La Push, headed east.

"Where we going?"

"I have an idea," he said, pulling onto a dead end road. They arrived at a small, shabby looking house, and Paul glanced over at him strangely.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

An hour later, Paul glanced down at his arm as he and Sam drove back to the house.

"It's already healed!" he exclaimed, rubbing the pad of his finger over the slightly-raised ink.

Sam glanced at the new tattoo gracing his own arm and nodded. "Figures."

"Wow," Paul mumbled, pulling his sleeve down. He and Sam had just gone to the house of a guy that Sam used to work with, and the two of them had gotten tattoos.

"It's the symbol of our tribe since before anyone can remember…I figured it was fitting," Sam explained.

Paul glanced over at Sam's arm, the black ink peeking out from under his sleeve in the tribal tattoo.

"It's fuckin' sweet!" he laughed, hanging his arm out the window.

"It'll be a reminder, I guess."

"Yeah…so…who else is joining this little band we got goin'? Who's next?"

Sam frowned at the road as he drove, turning onto his own lane. "Let's hope we're the last ones."

Paul snorted. "What? Why's that? Come on, man, this is cool. I get it now – protectors. Tribal warriors…it's awesome. Why wouldn't you want more people?"

Sam parked in the driveway, slamming the door shut behind him. He leaned over the hood at Paul, and spoke low.

"More wolves means more bloodsuckers. That isn't good news for us," he said in a quiet, sure voice.

Paul kicked the tire at his feet, the toe of his borrowed boot bouncing off the rubber. "Yeah but…people are gonna start thinking we're like…gay or something if it's just the two of us, always hanging around in our shorts."

Sam rolled his eyes and walked inside where his mother was cooking dinner. It was a Saturday, so she had been home all day, and the boys had tried to avoid her as best as they could.

"Hi, boys," his mother said, eying Paul as he walked by her. She glanced up at Sam, and he gave her a tight smile.

"Hey mom," Sam muttered, touching her elbow. He grabbed a loaf of bread, a butter knife, and a jar of peanut butter off the counter and took it into the living room.

"We're going to eat soon!" she yelled after him. Sam's face broke into a grin and he gave her a wink.

"I'm a growing boy!" he shot back playfully. She stared after him for a second, then her face slowly broke into a worn looking, tired smile.

"Okay then," she said softly, stirring the pot on the stove in front of her. Paul didn't miss the confused look on the woman's face.

Sam walked into the living room where Paul was already sprawled on the couch, and he began making himself a sandwich.

"You hungry?" he asked Paul.

Paul glanced down at his stomach and noticed that it was gurgling in a funny manner. "Yeah, guess so. Come to think of it…I'm always hungry nowadays."

Sam just nodded again in his silent, somber manner and leaned back in the armchair. Paul slapped his sandwich together and chewed thoughtfully for a moment.

"Aren't you gonna do something with your girlfriend tonight? Leah?"

"Why?"

Paul shrugged. "It's a Saturday. Just…figured. You've been cooped up with me for a whole day and half, I figured you'd want to see her."

Sam thought a moment, then nodded. "She's kinda mad at me for how I've been acting lately…but, I should go see her.

Sam rolled his eyes and shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth. "Whatever. No…um...I figured we could go hang out in La Push, maybe see if we can tell if anyone else is…about to change."

Paul nodded. "Yeah yeah…that's fine. Can we phase again?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess. Why?"

"I just wanted to see if I could really do it again is all."

"Trust me, you can."

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

The next week passed by in a blur for Paul. Sam did escape a few times to visit Leah, but for the most part, he was busy helping Paul master the art of phasing.

Paul had inadvertently destroyed most of Sam's clothes that were given to him on loan, and he still had trouble controlling his short temper at times. The week passed by quickly as the two spent hours watching the La Push teens from the woods, waiting for the next sign of who was to phase next.

Sam suggested that Paul take a few weeks off of school, so Harry Clearwater had called up to the reservation high school to tell them that Paul had mono. They were all grateful that Harry was such a respected member of the tribe, for no one questioned Paul's absence once.

Paul was even more amazed with his wolf traits. He loved running and patrolling for leeches; the more the elders told him about the vampires, the more he wanted to actually catch and destroy one.

They had been hunting several of them for a few weeks now. Each time the trails got closer and closer to La Push, further igniting Paul's rage. He never had any trouble phasing into a wolf; phasing back, however, was a lot harder.

It was the next Saturday, officially eight days after he had first phased. Paul sat on the couch at Sam's house, his eyes darting up to the clock as another episode of COPS came on. He was antsy for Sam to get back from wherever he was with Leah so that they could go phase and patrol for more vamps.

_Where did he go? Makah? Stupid, _Paul thought, tapping the remote against his tan knee.

Another episode came on a half hour later, and Paul stood and went to the window to look. _Where the hell was Sam? Wasn't he just going to a birthday party? _

His question was answered a few minutes later when Sam burst through the front door, his dark eyes hollow and blank looking. He stood there for a few moments, his hands shaking. Paul stood up and walked over to him, giving him a strange look.

"Sam? You okay?"

"What?" Sam asked, looking up at him. He would start to show the faint traces of a smile, then he would quickly look away and frown…and then the process would repeat.

"Where have you been? Didn't you just go to a birthday party for a toddler?"

Sam gave him a blank stare, then he broke into a smile. "Yeah...uh…shit…Leah's…second cousin...once...removed…I don't know," he mumbled, running a hand through his short, black hair.

Paul looked at him as he raced into the kitchen and quickly grabbed a glass off the counter, filling it with water. He filled it to the top and chugged it down quickly, turning to lean on the counter once he was finished.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" Paul asked, giving him a bewildered look. He tried to catch Sam's blank stare, but he was unsuccessful.

Slowly, a smile crept onto the large, tan face in front of him. "I have no idea," he stuttered.

"Um, try to explain," Paul snapped, crossing his arms in front of him.

Sam sat down at the table, and Paul followed, sitting down across from him. He watched as Sam stared off into space, a completely blank, open mouthed stare consuming him.

Paul was quickly losing his patience. "Did you like…get struck by fucking lightning, or what? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Sam's gaze moved sluggishly over to Paul, and he blinked several times. Then, a strange, giddy sounding giggle fell from his lips. Paul frowned. Normally, Sam was calm, reserved, and in control, almost stoic. This made no sense.

"I…I met a girl," Sam stuttered, the same stupid smile creeping onto his face. Paul looked at him in strange wonder, shaking his head.

"Um, so? You went to a family birthday party and met a girl…like, your cousin? I don't…what are you talking about?"

Sam shook his head. "No no no...it's Leah's family…it was…it was her cousin."

"Um, congrats? You met your girlfriend's cousin. Is that supposed to be significant?" Paul snapped.

Sam's head whipped up and he frowned. "Wait…Leah…Leah? Crap…Leah. My girlfriend…uhhh….we need to go talk to Old Quil."

Paul made another disgusted face as he followed Sam out of the kitchen and to the front yard. He shook his head as they stripped down and tied their clothes to their legs, both preparing to phase.

"Dude, what the hell is this about?" Paul snapped once they were about to change into their wolf forms.

Sam shook his head and let the tremors overtake him. Paul soon followed, figuring that Sam wouldn't be able to hide it in his head on the run to Old Quil's house.

Paul felt the familiar heat tingle up his spine as he prepared to let the wolf overtake him. Phasing got less and less painful every time he did it now, and it practically felt good at this point – it felt like it worked out all the aches and kinks of being a human teenager, for nothing really hurt when he was in wolf form. If something was sore or bruised, it healed much quicker as a wolf, and it was almost therapeutic for him to make the change now.

Once he hit the ground on all fours, he began to follow Sam as the two of them darted through the woods. Paul let one part of his mind pay attention to the rapidly passing ground beneath him, while the other side listened in on Sam's thoughts.

However, Sam was only having one thought at the moment, and it wasn't really one he understood.

_Emily. Emily. Emily. _

Paul's mind searched Sam's memory for what happened at the birthday party and just those two words were enough to send off a switch in Sam's mind.

Paul watched from Sam's mind as he finally gave in and replayed the memory for him.

Your guess is as good as mine, Sam thought absently at they ran.

Paul observed as Sam remembered walking into the Makah house, surrounded by all of Leah's family members. They were there for Leah's second cousin Claire's first birthday party, and the house was all a bustle with people saying hello and greeting each other. Then…something else happened.

Leah's mother, Sue, introduced Sam to Leah's cousin. Emily.

Paul sucked in a breath as Sam remembered touching the teenage girl's hand. _A feeling of a deliciously hot but wonderful fiery feeling zinged up his hand and his arm, wrapping itself around his heart. His eyes dilated to fully take in the sight of the angelic looking, tan skinned creature in front of him as a heated flush rose in her shapely cheeks. Sue said the girl's name, and it echoed in his head. _

_Emily. _

Paul tried to snap himself out of it and away from Sam's mind as they ran towards Old Quil's little house on the edge of town. He tried to keep his thoughts quiet as he let Sam do his own internal thinking. For once, Paul didn't know what to say or think.

Both boys pulled on their clothes and walked up to the porch, Paul glancing sideways at Sam as he worriedly rapped on the wooden door.

Old Quil fumbled around for a few moments before yanking the door open, his dark eyes falling on a panicked looking Sam and an even more confused Paul.

"Quil," Sam breathed, bursting inside. The old man jumped out of the way, his old face drawn and worried.

"What is it, boy? Has another changed?" He asked gruffly.

Sam shook his head, and the three of them rushed into the kitchen to sit down at his worn, round table.

"What is it?" Old Quil prodded. Sam looked at him worriedly, his face drawn and tired looking.

"I…I…feel like I got hit by lightning…but I like it," Sam mumbled, looking at him. "I met this girl up in Makah today…and she's all I can think about. I…I don't know why. I feel funny...I mean, great…I mean…I don't know how I feel. What…what happened to me?" He asked the old man.

Suddenly, Old Quil's face lit up and he smiled, his dry lips stretching across his teeth. He laughed, and it was a low, guttural sounding joy. "My boy…you didn't get struck by lightning. You've gone and imprinted."

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

There! I hope Paul didn't disappoint. I know a LOT of Sam's story was woven into Paul's, but there were a lot of things that I wanted to bring up. The mental link, imprinting, wolves learning how to fight, etc…fingers crossed that you guys didn't mind hearing a lot more about Sam. The future stories (Embry, Jake) will all talk more about vampires and learning to fight and hunt them. I just wanted Sam and Paul's story to maybe focus on something different. Jared's story just might have a little fluff in it too!;)

Well anyway, like I said, I know there was a lot of Sam in this story, but I had my reasons for that. As his beta and second in command, I figured that it was important to show how their relationship grew and how it was maybe slightly awkward at first. Pardon my 'isn't this kinda gay' reference that Paul makes. I could definitely see Paul being a wise ass and making fun of their situation of two young, muscular tan men running around in the woods together – sometimes clothed, sometimes not. You get the picture.

**And if you noticed it** – before Paul phases, he spent one night outside in the woods and is awoken by a sweet, strange smell. I decided that Victoria or Laurent might have strayed too close to him while he was sleeping, smelled him, and moved on. Remember, wolves don't really smell appetizing to vampires. I thought this would have helped trigger his first phase. Just a fun little tidbit.

Remember, I'm going in order of when the characters were changed. For the wolves, my research says that the timeline goes in this order:

Sam

Paul

Jared

Embry

Jake

Quil

Leah

Seth

Collin

Brady

And don't forget! There will also be a Bella and Renesmee chapter, along with a bonus chapter at the end. I won't say who it is, but guesses are more than welcome.


	10. Jared : November 2005

**Jared**

**(Transforms November)**

**Author's note: **Jared's story is a little more graphic than the others. When I saw him in New Moon, I loved his character but couldn't help but think that he looks like he would be *trouble* ; ) That being said, there is some mature content in Jared's story – he is a horny young man with a filthy mouth, but you can't help but love him. You've been warned!

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

Glancing at the clock that morning, he was glad for several reasons. First, he still had a few minutes to lay there, undisturbed before his mother would yell up the stairs for him to wake up. That also meant he had time for something else….

Jared was a typical seventeen-year-old boy, and as such he had the same predicament on this particular morning that most seventeen-year-old boys have. Shoving his hand below the covers, he laughed to himself when he realized he was still naked. Sleeping naked was something new for him. He didn't usually try that in the house where he lived with his parents. Lately, however, he had just been too hot to bother sleeping with any clothing on.

He moved his hand down to grasp his manhood and couldn't resist sneaking a peek below the sheets to admire the wonder that was now Little Jared.

_Or should I say Not-So-Little Jared? _ He thought to himself with a laugh. He had recently gone through a growth spurt, and as painful as it was for his already teenage body to shoot up nearly a foot, Jared didn't mind that much. It was nice to not look like a punk kid anymore.

The new, larger muscles in his arm ached a little as he moved his hand in the pleasurable up and down strokes. He was so into what he was doing that he didn't hear the familiar patter of his mother's footsteps as she walked up to his bedroom door.

"JARED!" she said, banging on it. He ripped his hand out from under the covers and flailed around, trying to cover himself before she pushed the door open rudely.

"Mom! Come on!" he yelled, sitting up quickly.

"Ulgh, Jared, stop doing whatever disgusting teenage thing you're doing and get downstairs! You need to eat something before school and you're going to be LATE!" his mother yelled at him. She ripped his blinds open with a yank and then shook her head at him as she stalked back into the hall.

His alarm went off, screaming rock music at him and he shook his head in defeat. It was going to be another one of those days.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x-X-x

He flew downstairs after throwing on some clothes, eager to finally get to eat again. He was always hungry these days.

"Morning," his father mumbled, barely looking up from his paper.

"Yo, pops," he said, reaching across the table. He grabbed a few bananas and began peeling them only to quickly devour them in two bites each.

"Hey!" his mother hissed, slapping him on the back of the head. "I just bought those!"

"To eat!" Jared shot back, giving his mom a pretend glare. She glared back until they both broke into a smile. He knew he had been forgiven, both for the bananas and the embarrassing scene in his bedroom earlier. His mom was no fool to his antics.

"Jared…" his father warned, again not bothering to look up from the paper.

"Sorry, Dad," he mumbled, pouring a large bowl of cereal. He knew his dad hated it when he acted up at breakfast. His dad was the dentist in La Push, and his mom worked as his dental hygienist. He was an only child, and they lived pretty well for a reservation family. Jared was a lucky kid, and he knew it.

"You can't wear that to school," his mom said, pulling at his t-shirt.

"Mom…"

"Jared, its November. You're wearing those awful cargo shorts that I hate…and a t-shirt? It snowed on Tuesday for heaven's sake!"

Jared just rolled his eyes and began shoveling the cold cereal into his mouth. "No big deal," he mumbled through the food. She slapped him again upside the head for talking with food in his mouth and he laughed.

"What?"

"It's November, Jared. What will people say when they see that I let my teenage son out of the house in shorts and a t-shirt when there's frost on my car?"

"They'll say whatever they want to say," he mused, grabbing another banana and jumping up from the table. He laughed smugly to himself as both his parents gave him an incredulous look while he bounded towards the front door.

"Don't forget your books!" she said. "And I expect you to get a Calculus tutor today, Jared. I won't have you getting Ds and Cs!" she called after him.

"Yeah, mom, I hear ya," he called out over his shoulder. He had been dreading that – he was practically failing Calc because it was just a stupid class in his opinion. He didn't have the time or patience to sit and focus on that many little letters and numbers for so long. It was pointless. His mother had been bugging him for a week now to take advantage of the free after school tutoring program, but it wasn't really Jared's style to ask for help and admit that he was too lazy to do something.

_I plan to get through life with my looks, _he thought smugly as he jumped into his truck.

Jared had never been particularly well built – he was slightly skinny, medium height, and even had a few love handles on his sides that his mother often made fun of.

That had all changed several weeks ago. Out of nowhere, he had shot up a little over a foot. His joints and muscles still ached most days, especially with the humidity and rain. He now towered over most of his classmates at a lean 6'4". The fat had practically melted off his body overnight, leaving him with a body that was muscled like he had been working out for years. He couldn't explain it – but he was happy enough that he didn't bother to try. He had gotten a few funny looks at school even, a few snide comments about steroids and illegal muscle enhancers, things like that. However, no one was really about to try to mess with him now that he was built 'like a brick shithouse' as he had heard someone refer to it.

The truck roared to life and he grinned to himself as he revved it a couple times before pulling out of the driveway. The brand new, black Dodge truck had been a sixteenth birthday present from his father, and it was easily the envy of the reservation. His father's job allowed them to live in one of the nicer houses there and he never forgot about it. Unfortunately, poverty and hard times were not two unfamiliar things in La Push.

He pulled into the parking lot of the small reservation high school. There were only about five hundred students in each grade, so he pretty much knew every face that turned to look at him as his truck roared into his usual spot by the basketball hoops. He stepped out onto the wet asphalt, glaring up at the rainy sky.

_Could we just have one sunny day?_

Shaking his head, he strode into school and into his first class. They day passed slowly. With each hour he would move to a different room to try to squeeze himself into the small desks that lined the rooms in tiny rows. When he got to calc, his last class of the day, he groaned and flopped down in his desk in the back row. He absolutely loathed coming to calculus. He would sit for fifty minutes of pure boredom and would come away with scribbled down notes and the need for a nap. It was useless.

The students all scurried into the classroom as their teacher began to take roll. Jared didn't even bother to look up as the last one hurried in and took her seat beside him in the back row, knocking him accidentally in the face with her backpack.

"Sorry!" she gasped, turning to look at him. Jared nodded at her, barely letting his eyes brush over her face.

"S'ok," he mumbled, leaning back in his chair.

He sat through the class, trying to keep his eyes open. The tiny classroom was so hot and stuffy; he only wanted to be outside. He sighed as he looked out the windows at the forest. He frowned as he bit back the urge to just go outside and r_un._

His teacher, Mr. Finch, frowned at him as he walked by with their quizzes from last week.

"We might want to be looking into the after school tutoring, Jared," he said quietly, tossing the quiz down on his desk. Jared glanced at it, cringing when he saw the 54% written on the top in bold red ink.

"What?" Jared exclaimed, snatching up the paper. "Mr. Finch, this stuff is impossible!" he argued. "No one could do this."

"Mr. Tinsel, I suggest you keep quiet. Others seem to understand the material just fine," his teacher said to him pointedly. He placed another graded quiz onto the desk of the girl beside him that had hit him with her backpack at the start of class. It read 96%.

Jared glanced over at the girl's paper with an annoyed glare, then turned back to his own paper. Mr. Finch leaned down a little to speak to him. "Get the tutor," he repeated, walking back up the row to finish passing out the papers.

Jared sighed as anger rose in his body. The heat seemed to swell in his muscles as he glared at the back of his teacher's head. Luckily, the bell rang and he was free for the day. With another annoyed grunt, he pushed away from his desk and stomped out of the classroom. He didn't think he could stand to be in there one more second.

He flew out of the room so quickly that he almost ran right into another body that was making its way through the tiny, crowded hallway.

"Sorry," he mumbled as his arm brushed against another guy's shoulder. He _hated_ accidentally running into people, especially other guys. The older boy looked at him strangely, and then shook his head a little.

"Yeah," he said curtly, quickly raking his eyes up and down his body.

Jared frowned at the senior boy that he recognized as Paul. _Did he just…did he just check me out?_

By the time he finished the thought Paul had darted down the crowded hallway and was gone. Jared glared at the back of his head over the heads of his classmates in the hallway around him. It was too crowded to do anything now anyway. He huffed and made his way to his locker. Opening it up, he groaned when a pile of books and papers slid out as a result of being crammed into the small space. Reaching out, he effortlessly caught them all, faster than he even realized.

_Weird, _he thought. Looking around, he felt better when he realized none of the other students had noticed his strange behavior.

_I thought growing this much would make me clumsier. Guess I was wrong,_ he thought smugly.

When he had what he needed, he strode down the hallway and out toward the parking lot where his truck was parked. He just wanted to go home, listen to some music, and chill out. His body ached and everything was bothering him today. He might as well just chalk today up as a loss.

He made his way out into the parking lot, easily dodging the crowds of teenagers and their friends as they stood and chatted. Stopping outside his door, he fumbled in his pocket for his keys when a strange feeling came over him. _Almost like he was being watched. _

Frowning, he slowly turned his head to the side, toward the edge of the lot. Two pairs of eyes stared right back at him. He recognized them both – one was Paul, who had weirdly bumped into him in the hallway just minutes before, and the other was an even older boy that had graduated several years ago. Sam Uley stood beside his truck with Paul, and they were both staring right at him. When Jared returned their stare, neither one of the boys looked away.

_Okay, this is officially creepy. _

His eyebrows knitted together in yet another frown as he finally found his keys and jumped into his truck. Not caring if he got stares, he stomped on the gas, revving the engine and peeling out of the parking lot. The students looked after him as he zoomed away down the road towards home.

As he drove, he turned up the music in the truck cab, letting the bass of the song throb in his ears. If it was loud, maybe then he wouldn't be able to think anymore.

_No, that didn't work…man that was creepy. What the fuck were they doing just staring at me like that? Fucking weirdoes. Mom says she heard that Sam Uley is a drug pusher. I bet he uses Paul to sell drugs in the school since he graduated and doesn't have an excuse to be there anymore. _

He shook his head as he thought disgustedly about Sam and Paul. In Jared's opinion, it was just pathetic to sell drugs in a small town, to a bunch of kids. How wrong was that?

He caught his reflection in the rearview mirror and smiled at his new bulging biceps. Flexing to the mirror, he fought to keep his eyes on the road.

_I'm pretty big now. If I catch them selling drugs…I'll kick some ass, _he decided. He put his eyes on the road long enough to pull into the driveway of his parent's house. Jared immediately ran up to his room to catch some quiet time before his mom got home.

He loved his mom and was definitely a momma's boy. However, sometimes all her nagging just go to be too much. He knew she only did it because she cared.

_All the nagging…about school, keeping my room clean, my grades, the math tutor...oh fuck, the math tutor!_

Groaning, he punched his mattress as he lay down to watch some TV. He had forgotten to go to the library after school and sign up for the math tutoring program.

_Fuck. She's going to have my ass for that. _

Lying back on the bed, he tried to close his eyes and relax. He had two hours until his mom would get home, and he was going to take advantage of it. There was going to be a Christmas dance at school coming up soon, and he had no idea who he was going to ask. He had dated a few girls on the reservation, and even briefly flirted with a Makah girl earlier in the summer. Most of those had ended badly due to Jared's constant need to push his limits when it came to girls. He usually had a different idea of how far the date should go than they did.

He closed his eyes and mentally scanned through the faces of the girls in his grade, and even the ones in the grades below him. Even with the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen classes all combined…there wasn't much to choose from. Wrinkling his nose, he tried to picture who he would take in an ideal world, but nothing came to him. It was just blank.

Jared realized he didn't have a type when it came to girls – willing, somewhat attractive, and female usually did the trick. Chuckling to himself, he thought back to all the times he had tried to finally have sex with a girl, but to no avail.

_I wonder what it would be like…god, probably better than getting caught whacking off by your mom…_he laughed to himself.

Before he knew it, his mother was home and yelling at him to come downstairs for supper. Eager for the chance to eat, he darted downstairs and slid into his chair at the dinner table. His father gave him a half interested glance, and his mother clicked her tongue at him as she sat down at the table.

"Are you going to break another one of my chairs?" she asked him.

He gulped down the glass of milk she had set out for him and wiped his mouth on his arm. "Nope," he said.

"Were you raised in a barn while I was at work all these years?" his father mumbled sternly.

"Sorry," Jared replied, picking up his napkin. He knew it always annoyed his father when he didn't use the table manners his mother had instilled in him, but he couldn't help it – he was hungry.

The three of them ate in silence for a few moments, and eventually his parents started chatting amongst themselves. Not that it mattered. Jared was positively starving, and food was his only concern.

His mother had different ideas.

"Jared, what did you do about a math tutor today?" His mother suddenly asked him. He looked up, his fork frozen halfway to his mouth. His eyes darted nervously from one parent to the other, and in his blank stare he gave her the answer: _nothing._

"This ought to be good," His father grumbled, shaking his head. Jared's mother dropped her jaw in disgust and frowned.

"Jared, I specifically told you to go figure out what you were going to do about a tutor today. Now, you can't be getting Ds and Cs on your report cards if you want to get into a decent school! What else do you have to worry about that you can't do one simple thing?"

"Mom," he groaned, dropping his fork on his plate with a clatter. He really didn't want to discuss this now. All he wanted to do was eat, take a hot shower, and go to bed. Arguing with his mom didn't really sound like much fun at all right now.

"Jared, listen to me," she snapped. "You're a teenager – we don't make you work, sports are over for the season, and you barely study. Is it really that much to ask that you at least pull a B in math?"

"No, but-"

"I'm sick of hearing excuses. Do you want your father to sign you up to volunteer for the tribe?" she asked.

Jared snapped his mouth shut as the tips of his ears turned red with anger.

"No." He knew that volunteering for the tribe meant doing yard work for the tribe's elders and cleanup duty around La Push. No thank you.

"Then do as I say and go get a damn tutor," she snapped, picking up her fork. Jared knew that when his mother swore, she meant business. Still, his hands shook slightly as he picked up his fork. He just wanted to eat and get out of there before he blew up again and got himself grounded for the weekend.

He scarfed down the rest of his large meal, jumping up to throw his plate in the sink. He stomped upstairs to his room as his mother called out to him, "Don't you slam that door!"

She was answered with the sound of the wooden door slamming against the frame. Jared grunted in satisfaction at his childish game, and quickly began to strip down. His body felt worn, sore, and tired, even though he had no reason to be. Walking into the bathroom attached to his room, he glanced at his bare body in the mirror hanging on the bathroom door.

He was big. Bigger than he used to be – he had always been kind of a run, but that had all changed. Flexing, he raised his eyebrows as he looked at all of his new muscles. He had bulked up in places he didn't even know he had lately, and he had yet to pick up one dumbbell or run a mile.

"Fuckin' weird," he muttered, stepping into the hot spray. Leaning against the tile wall, he let the steaming water run down his tan chest and onto the floor.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

He frowned. _Does that seem…louder than usual?_

He rubbed his ears, soaping them up a little before rinsing them in the streams of water. The sound of the droplets hitting his ears echoed and rang loudly in them, and he stepped back for a second. That was definitely louder than it should have been. Rubbing his ears, he tried to think; maybe he ears has just been blocked for awhile and they had unblocked, making things seem a lot louder?

He tried to shake away the strange feeling that had settled over him and went to turn off the water.

x-X-x-X-x-X-x

"Excuse me, do you know what time the tutors usually get here?" he asked the librarian. The large, older woman looked at him over her gaudy looking reading glasses and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Three thirty," she said bluntly, dropping her eyes back to her reading.

"Thanks," Jared mumbled, walking away. He put his backpack down on the table, glancing around the reservation school's dinky little library. It wasn't much to talk about – rows of books along the walls, a dozen or so round tables in the center, and a bay for computers in one corner. Heaving a sigh, he scratched his name down on the form for a tutor, sat down and waited for the tutoring program to begin.

_This is so stupid. I feel like a jackass…and a dumbass. _

The teacher in charge came in, followed by a few students that looked like they should be smart – studious looking, with large backpacks and stacks notebooks in their arms.

_Well…at least I brought my book, _he thought smugly. The teacher began assigning tutors to the students waiting at the tables, and he rested his head on his elbows as he sat there waiting.

"Hey," he nodded at the girl that sat down next to him.

"Hey, Jared," she mumbled, setting her backpack on the table, along with a thick looking notebook, a calc book, and a hefty looking calculator.

Jared bit his lip and looked at the girl next to him sideways. He had absolutely no clue what her name was, and she had just greeted him with his.

_Fuck. What's her name? Rachel? Tiffany? Brittany? Crap…now I REALLY feel like a jackass._

She sat down next to him, but a safe distance away. He tried to smile at her, but she saw right through him.

"I'm Kim," she said finally, tossing her book open. She tossed him a look that clearly said, _Duh, dipshit, _and tucked a pen behind her hair.

"We have calc together?" she reminded him, her tone changing slightly. He could tell she was already irritated.

_Not good. I'm gonna fail now for sure..._

"We do?" he asked. Cringing, he realized that he had spoken before his brain had caught up with his stupid mouth.

She gave him an incredulous look and began loudly turning the pages of her worn book to the chapter they were on.

"Yeah, I knew that," he said, laughing awkwardly. She peeked at him through her long, wavy brown hair, but said nothing.

"Well, we might as well get started," she muttered.

He instantly felt like an ass as she began rambling about what chapter they were on – apparently they even sat next to each other in the class, much to his chagrin. The reservation school was so small that students practically had to go out of their way to _not_ know someone's name, considering most of them had been at the school together since first grade.

He glanced at her as she continued to talk, her voice raspy and slightly tired sounding. He knew he had seen her before…but didn't really have any memory of ever officially meeting her. Although he had to admit – this girl was utterly forgettable. She was just medium sized – not tall, not short. She wasn't skinny, and she wasn't fat, but she definitely had some curves. She had the same tan skin as most of the reservation girls, and the same dark brown, long hair. It hung in a boring style down to her elbows, and she didn't bother styling it or dying it like some girls did. She was just…_plain._

"So why do you do this?" he asked, trying to make conversation. He wasn't a complete asshole; if he was going to be spending time with this chick he might as well get on her good side.

"What?" she asked, looking up. Her finger was poised over the graphing calculator, frozen mid-punch.

"This, this…tutoring thing," he mused, gesturing to her calculator and book.

Kim glanced down at the array of notes and papers in front of her and shrugged. "My…my dad thought it would be good to do?" she stated, more like a question. Jared snorted, leaning back in the plastic library chair.

"Do you do everything your dad tells you to do?" he teased. Kim wasn't amused.

"Um…yeah, kinda."

"Get real," Jared snorted again. "No one does that,"

"He's my dad. I mean...what choice do I have?"

Jarred exploded with a loud laugh at that statement, earning him a stern look from the grumpy librarian.

"Who does exactly what their parents tell them to do?"

"I guess I do," she practically growled, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ear. Jared laughed again, leaning forward in the tilted chair. It collided with the carpet on all four legs with a thump.

"You gotta be joking! You sit in the library for fun after school because your dad told you to?"

"Well…I can put peer tutoring on my college applications," she said, glancing at him sideways.

"You're going to college?"

"Community, but…it still helps to put stuff on your applications," she mused, picking her pen back up. "Aren't you going to go to college?

Jared glanced at the black Bic pen in her hand and shook his head, ignoring her question. "You do your math homework in pen? Who does _that?"_

Kim shot him a death glare. "Apparently people who are actually _good_ at math!"

Kim sat with him in the small library for a full hour, correcting his homework and painstakingly explaining every equation to him. Jared was bored out of his freaking mind. All he could think about was how much his body ached and how hot he was in the small room with no circulation. Calculus was the last thing on his mind.

"Well, I guess that's all for today. I have to go to work," she finally said, slamming her book shut. Jared jumped slightly as she jammed her papers back into her binder, stacking it on top of her book with a slam.

"Oh, uh, okay," he said, yawing widely. He stretched, leaning back in the chair, and Kim stood there for a moment and watched him sideways. He caught her eye, and straightened up.

"What?" he asked.

She looked away, picking up her books. "Nothing. Uh…I'm here every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, so just come back on Thursday if you need more help," she said.

He grinned to himself as he nodded. _All the ladies want a piece of Jared,_ he thought smugly.

She tucked a long strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear and slung her backpack over her shoulder, looking at him expectantly as he stood and did the same. He began to walk away when he heard her growl under her breath.

"_You're welcome," _she muttered to herself. Jared turned, holding up his hand.

"Oh, thank you," he replied, giving her a wink. She stood there with a completely flabbergasted look on her face as he pushed out of the library doors. He headed for his car, thankful to finally be done for the day. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep. He had felt funny all day, and he wasn't sure why.

As he strode out into the parking lot, he was aware that it had started raining…again. However, today the rain really didn't bother him as much, for it felt good against his hot skin. He adjusted the backpack on his shoulder as he moved through the chilly air towards his truck. The parking lot was basically empty – school had ended over an hour ago, and the only people left were faculty and a few straggling students.

Suddenly, he felt the familiar feeling of watching eyes. Looking up, he noticed the same strange sight as the day before – there, in the corner of the parking lot, were Sam and Paul. Sam was hanging out the window of his little truck, and Paul was leaning against the side, and the two were talking quietly. They were several hundred yards away, and Jared couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it wasn't hard to guess.

They would speak a few words, and then look over at him. They would talk again, and look back.

"Do they even fucking care that I can see them talking about me like queers?" he muttered to himself as he fumbled in his pockets for his keys. Glancing up, he saw Paul snort and Sam give a wry smile.

Jared panicked suddenly – had they actually heard what he just said? No…impossible, he reasoned with himself. They were all the way on the other side of the parking lot. Shrugging, he got in his prized vehicle and peeled out of the parking lot. He didn't give them a second look.

Once he got home, he was relieved to see that he was alone again. His parents usually didn't get home till almost five, so that left him about twenty minutes to scour the kitchen for food in peace. If he had to listen to his mom bitch about how much food he had eaten lately one more time, he was going to lose his mind.

Opening the fridge, he was happy to see a brand new package of sliced roast beef sitting on the top shelf, along with cheese. Grabbing a loaf of bread, he quickly made himself a few sandwiches. He sat in silence and chewed, thinking about Paul and Sam in the parking lot. The more he thought about it, the weirder it was. What were they watching him for? It was like they were expecting him to do something...

_They're watching me like I'm an alien,_ he thought to himself. Sighing, he gulped down his juice straight from the carton and made another sandwich. Suddenly, food just tasted _so good._

He sat there at the counter for another few minutes, just thinking about his day. It had been a long, strange day and he just wanted to take another cold shower and go to sleep. Fuck homework.

Looking down, his eyes widened a little when he saw the array of empty packages in front of him. The brand new package of roast beef and sliced cheese were both gone, and all that remained of the loaf of bread were the two heels. The orange juice carton in front of him was also empty.

_Holy shit…did I just eat all that? I barely even feel full…_

Rubbing his stomach, he sat back in the chair. He still didn't feel quite right. He felt almost like he was coming down with something – a bug or flu. He still felt achy as usual, but he also felt a bit shaky now, too. As if on cue, a strange tremor rolled down his spine, making him jump. He gripped the side of the counter top, looking around. It had felt almost like a shiver, but more intense.

"I need to go to bed," he said to himself. Standing up, he tried to dispose of the evidence of his eating binge, and quickly made his was up to his shower once again.

_Maybe if I beat off once before I go to sleep I'll feel better… _he thought with a smirk as he peeled off his clothes. He ran the water only slightly warm. He felt hotter than hell and didn't need anything else warm touching his skin. He shook slightly as he stepped into the cool streams of water, soaking himself in the soothing jets.

After a few minutes, he was starting to feel a little better, but still felt on edge. Reaching down, he grasped his manhood and started to move his hand up and down in a soothing, familiar pattern.

"Ulgh," he moaned, leaning his head against the tiles. He was feeling a bit better as he moved his hand against himself, when suddenly another tremor rolled down his spine, making him grasp the wall in front of him in shock.

"What the-" he let go of himself, now gripping the wall with both hands. After a few moments, he tried again. Nothing sucked more than not finishing what he had already started…

And there it was again. A hot, flashing tremor struck him, making him drop his hand and steady himself on the shower wall.

"Fuck this," he grumbled, shutting off the water. He quickly dried himself, skipping the clothes. He was so hot that it felt good to just shut the door to his room and hang out in the buff for awhile. Jared tried sleeping, but the heat coursing through his veins wasn't helping him any. Soon, he stood up and returned to the bathroom that was attached to his room. His parents weren't home yet, thankfully.

He grabbed the thermometer out of the medicine cabinet. Normally he wouldn't be caught dead taking his own temperature like a sissy, but something didn't feel right. Sticking it in his mouth, he waited until it beeped.

"106? Yeah right," he muttered, yanking it out and shaking it. He tried again after waiting for a few moments. It read '106' again.

"What the fuck?" he growled, slamming the door to the medicine cabinet shut. The glass on the outside of it cracked, splintering all the way down the middle of it. He grumbled in annoyance and stormed to his parent's room to get the other thermometer.

He grabbed it off the shelf, determined to take his temperature with something else. This was the kind that went in the ear instead of the mouth. Inserting it in his ear, he waited for it to beep again.

Pulling it back, he glanced at the reading and almost dropped it. "106….what the…no…no way," he said to himself in disbelief. How could his temperature be 106?

Running back to his room, a quick Google search confirmed to him that he should be unconscious or dead with that temperature. "I gotta get to the hospital," he said to himself, looking around his room frantically. He would call his mom later. He obviously needed medical attention, and fast.

He threw on his cargo shorts and a wife beater, which he realized was strange for November weather, but he couldn't help it. His body felt like it was on _fire._

Staggering down the steps, he rested his arm against his forehead as the heat seemed to increase. He was just thankful he was on his way to get help, as the shaky feeling in his limbs began to increase even more. He threw open the front door to his house, fishing his keys out of his pocket once again. Suddenly, his eyes caught something on the other side of the street, making him stop.

There, standing across the street where the tree line started, was Sam and Paul. Both stood completely still, staring right at him.

Before he could even think, rage began to boil up into his stomach again, quickly spreading into his spine. Jared's feet felt like they were glued to the sidewalk as he began to shake with rage, still staring at them.

"What do y-you want?" he panted, still shaking. Paul looked over at Sam, and Sam nodded at him. They began to walk forward, out of the trees and across the street. Jared heard himself growl as he stood there, shaking in his driveway.

"Jared," Sam said, his authoritative voice deep and commanding. "You need to come with us."

Jared laughed bitterly. "Go with you? Ahhh...fuck," he growled as another tremor rolled down his back. It was getting harder and harder to stand upright now. "I don't wanna go with you, you creepy fuck!" He finally spat. Paul stepped forward, but Sam held out his arm, keeping him back.

"Easy," he said to Paul. Paul obeyed, stepping back, but his eyes were still glued to a trembling Jared.

"I...h-have to get to the hospital…" he gasped, looking down at his now blurring hands. They shook violently, and his head ached with a strange, dull pain that he had never felt before.

"Careful," Sam said to Paul. "Jared…just please trust me…you can't go to the hospital...just come into the cover of the trees and I'll help you," Sam commanded.

Jared frowned as he felt his chest begin to pull him towards the woods where Sam was motioning him to go. Paul waved him forward, and Jared quickly staggered with them. He had no choice but to go – suddenly he wanted to go with Sam and Paul.

Once in the cover of the thick trees, he bent over to put his hands on his knees as he panted and shook.

"God…ah!" he groaned as yet another painful shock made its way down his spine. "What...what the…"

He didn't have time to finish. Panic shot through his body as waves of what felt like electric current went down his spine, but this time his arms and legs joined it.

"Paul, phase! Quick!" Sam yelled, stripping off his shirt. Jared barely noticed Paul doing the same. Jared's eyes closed in agony as he shook, the tremors and heat taking over.

He let one last human roar out before his body exploded, sending him crashing to the ground. He landed in a furry ball on the mossy floor, panting and whining.

He tried to cry out, but nothing came out but a panicked sounding whine.

_What the…holy hell...why…is that me? Do I have paws? What the..._

_Yes, that is you. You have phased into a wolf, just like us, _the deep, commanding voice answered. In a matter of a few seconds, Jared took mental stock of what had just happened.

He had gotten hot, shook, then he had gotten angry...and then…now he was a giant wolf? _What the hell?_

_I'm Sam, and that's Paul, _he heard the loud voice say. Looking around, Jared tried to figure out where the voices were coming from, but couldn't see anything but the two large wolves in front of him. The large, black wolf nodded first, and then seemed to point with his snout towards the now bored looking white and grey wolf that lay on the ground, his paws crossed.

_Oh my god, I turn into a giant animal and now I'm hearing voices? Holy freaking shit-_

_Jared! Stop_! The voice commanded. His thoughts immediately halted, his mind settling to a slow buzz as he listened to the voice in his head.

_You will listen to me now. Jared, everything is okay. You phased into a wolf. I'm Sam. _The large black wolf nodded again_. Sam Uley. You know me, and you know Paul. We've been waiting for you to change for several weeks now._

_Change? What is he talking about? He knew this was going to happen to me_? Jared's thoughts became more and more frenzied as he struggled to maintain control of himself in this stranger-than strange situation. He wasn't having much success.

_Easy Jared…just take it easy…_

_That kid is freaked the fuck out._

_Shut up, Paul. Try to clear your mind so that Jared can have some space to think. I need to talk to him._

_What are these weird fucks talking about? _Jared wondered. He stood on four legs, shaking and quivering next to a tree as he tried to come to grips with what just happened.

_The legends are true, Jared. We are protectors of our tribe, _Sam tried to reason with him.

_Legends, what legends? What is he talking about? _Jared's mind continued to race.

He could hear a steady humming yet blank sound in the back of his mind, and on top of that he could hear a deep voice that claimed to be the voice of Sam.

_It is my voice, Jared. _

_Impossible,_ he thought.

_You know, you can hear us, but we can hear you too,_ the other voice spat.

_Paul, shut up,_ the first voice said.

Jared watched as the black wolf began to shake and quiver, his sides blurring and stretching in jagged forms. Within five or six seconds, a naked Sam Uley stood crouched in front of Jared, his hands quickly moving to cover as much of himself as he could.

_Holy shit,_ Jared thought. _It's true! Can I do that too? _

Sam looked at Paul, who nodded at him.

_We can only hear each other's thoughts when our minds are linked. He's in human form so he can't hear you,_ Paul's voice said.

_Whoah….can you change back too?_

The gray-white wolf made a snorting sound, standing up_. Of course I can, _it said. _We can't stay like this forever. I have to stay phased with you 'til you can un phase, too. Alpha's orders._

_Wait, what?_

_Sam made up the rule that no new wolf is left alone until it masters the art of phasing back and forth. _

_Wait, new wolves?_

_Yeah…we're expecting more. Don't get excited though. It's not all sunshine and rainbows,_ Paul thought, rolling his wolf eyes.

_So you'll stay with me like this until I can…change back?_

_Alpha's orders, like I said,_ Paul spat bitterly. Sam, still in human form, glanced between them for a moment before crouching again and blurring. Jared watched with a cross between awe, wonder, and disgust as Sam's skin ripped away from his tan body, revealing a coat of black fur to cover his wolf form.

_That is...unreal. Did…did I do that, too?_

_Yeah, only you cried more,_ Paul said laughing. Jared heard a snarl pierce the air, and he realized that it was him.

_You take that back, dog!_ Jared growled.

_Don't you own a mirror, pup? You're a dog now, too!_ Paul laughed.

_Hey!_ Sam snarled at Paul. Jared felt the hackles on his spine stand up as Paul's biting comments settled into him, igniting the rage that had made him change in the first place.

_I did not cry!_

_Says you! _

_Both of you knock it off!_ Sam ordered. Jared jumped as his tail flew down between his legs, making him jump even more. This was going to take some getting used to.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x

_Just concentrate…picture yourself being…oh, I don't know, um…not a giant dog?_

Jared curled his lips back from his teeth, growling. _You're not helping_, he thought at Paul.

Sam sighed, straightening up. _Just try to picture it, Jared. You have to relax and let all the heat and anger leave your spine to phase back. Just…take some deep breaths and try._

_I am trying._

_Then try harder,_ Sam commanded.

Jared grumbled to himself, taking several deep breaths. This whole 'obeying Alpha's orders' thing was already getting old, in his opinion. It was early the next day, and they had been up all night. It had been the longest night of Jared's life.

They had stayed in the woods, trying to help him phase back, but to no avail. Both Paul and Sam had taken turns hunting, and they had 'eaten raw' as they called it. Jared's stomach had turned when he figured out that that meant they hunted animals in the wild and ate them in wolf form…raw. He had simply refused to do that, thus earning him a tirade of feminine themed chants and jabs from Paul.

_That's disgusting and I won't do it. Just show me how to change back and I'll eat when I'm human again._

Sam began, _when I first phased, I couldn't figure out how to get back for days. You might be like this for awhile before you calm down enough to change back, so you should at least eat something and feel better. It's not so bad…you just…let the wolf take over – instinct._

Jared sighed, concentrating on the deep rumble of his disgruntled and empty stomach.

_Dude, this blows,_ he grumbled, stumbling to a standing position. It was much harder to control four limbs to move the way he wanted to instead of the two he was used to.

_I'm going to be like this forever, Jared_ thought to himself. His mind vaguely thought about what Sam and Paul had told him the night before about vampires and the legends of their tribe. None of it made any sense, and it had been a shaking experience to find out that he did not live in the kind of world he thought he had. Jared was a no-nonsense kind of guy when it came to believing in all that stupid shit. To find out that it not only existed, but also that he was a part of it, was mind boggling and definitely pretty life altering.

_Sucks, don't it?_ Paul laughed, trotting up beside him. Jared swished his tail in an annoyed manner against the tall grass they were in, choosing to ignore his new annoying pack mate.

_It gets easier,_ Sam said, walking up beside him.

_Which part?_ Jared asked.

Sam laughed in his head, and then sighed. _All of it,_ he said.

He blinked, and Jared realized that Sam had the same eyes as a human and as a wolf.

_You do, too_, Sam pointed out.

_Really? _Jared asked. He picked up his pace a bit as the two older wolves led him to a mountain pond where they urged him to take a glance at himself. He gasped, a nervous whine escaping from his lips as he fought to stay in control of himself.

_Holy shit_… he thought to himself.

_Yeah, you're ugly, aren't ya? _Paul laughed, a snort escaping from his large snout.

_Paul, knock it off_, Sam shot at him. _Jared, are you okay?_

Jared glanced up at Sam, another whine escaping his mouth. He looked at the wolfy face in the reflection of the water, panting nervously. Instead of seeing his normal face and features, he was met with the face of a massive, brown-colored wolf. His coat wasn't as black as night like Sam's, or white and gray like Paul's. Instead, his coat was a mixture of all three colors, speckled and varying, giving him a brownish roan appearance.

I'm seriously a wolf…holy shit…

_Yes_, Sam nodded.

Jared looked up at him, suddenly panicked. _What if I really can't change back? _He asked worriedly. Sam gave him a reassuring stare, nodding his huge head.

_You will. Just give it time, Jared. When I phased back this morning I called Harry Clearwater, and he called your parents. I…I had to make up the lamest excuse that you signed up for some leadership retreat for the tribe. I just hope your mom bought it. It was the only thing I could think of that would keep you away for a few days._

_My mom would never buy that…I would never even consider doing anything like that_, Jared laughed. Paul snorted, and Sam rolled his eyes as he stepped away from the waters edge.

_Great, you don't think of yourself as a leader. Really great, Jared, especially since we're here and our duty is to lead and protect our people_…

_I know I know, we're tribe protectors, I know…jeez…just give me a few days to get used to this, alright? _Jared snapped. Sam nodded, and they began to walk away from the pond.

_I'm going to have to have Harry tell your mother something soon, so please try to relax and focus on phasing back_, Jared, Sam said.

Paul snorted. _You just want to get back to your imprint_, he laughed.

_Imprint? What's an imprint? _Jared asked slowly. Paul chuckled, and Sam shot him an annoyed look as pictures of a beautiful raven-haired girl quickly ran through his mind.

_Whoa, who is that? She's really pretty_…Jared thought, glancing at the pictures as they raced through Sam's mind.

_That's his imprint…ooh_…Paul laughed, making kissing noises in his head. Sam rolled his wolf eyes and turned his attention back to Jared.

_I'll explain later_, he mumbled. _You need to eat, Jared. _

_Yeah, yeah…okay…well I guess so_, he said slowly, thinking about his rumbling stomach.

_Would fish be not as gross? _Sam offered, glancing back over his shoulder at the pond.

Jared winced. _I don't like fish really as a human…does that mean I won't like it as a wolf? And it'll be raw…_

_Dude, you gotta get over this whole fear of eating things raw. Haven't you ever had sushi?_

_No, _Jared admitted. _Have you?_

_Well...no_, Paul finally said, sitting down on his haunches.

Sam motioned to them with his large head, urging them forward. That afternoon, the two boys showed Jared how to hunt in wolf form, and Jared had to admit that it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. The actual hunt wasn't that bad – he even found himself enjoying the chase of the deer that Sam and Paul had helped him hunt. Once he had it killed, the easy part was over…eating it was a different story.

Paul laughed at him as he ripped open the flesh of his own deer he had caught. _Just don't think about it like that. Don't look at it; just think about how hungry you are and how good food will taste…._

_Don't you eat venison as a human?_

_Well yeah, but…._

Jared tried to ignore the steam rising up off the flesh of the dead animal in front of him as he bit into the muscle and began to chew. After a few painstakingly slow bites, he got used to the taste and had to admit that it wasn't even the worst thing he'd eaten, human or wolf.

_Not so bad, right? _Sam asked as they walked back towards La Push. Jared shook his head, glancing over at Paul, who was trotting along through the ferns, wagging his tail.

_He's happy about this, isn't he?_

Sam nodded his big head. _Yeah…Paul didn't have a lot going for him before this._

_I resent that_, Paul quipped, giving a short yip into the air. Jared rolled his eyes and walked beside Sam.

_My mom is probably wondering where I am…._

_Then you'd better learn how to phase back_, Paul snapped at him, turning around with a short chuff from his nostrils.

_Harry has been talking to your parents. He made up an excuse that we decided to go camping for a few days to celebrate the end of the tribal leadership retreat. She didn't even seem that worried, or at least she didn't according to Harry._

_I'm trying, okay? This is a lot to handle_, Jared responded, flattening out his ears. He broke into a laugh when he realized what he had just done, and instantly felt a little better that he had managed to control something on his new body besides his legs.

_See? You'll get the hang of this_, Sam said. Jared felt instantly better all around after his hunt. He had food in his stomach, he was getting the hang of being a wolf, and Sam had promised him that he would eventually be able to change back. In fact, several hours later, Jared calmed down enough to finally return to human form. Sam and Paul both joined him, and Jared couldn't have been happier to be his old self again.

"Let's go back to Emily's place," Paul whined. "I want to have some real food!" he laughed.

Sam nodded, motioning to Jared, who was still trying to cover himself up modestly. Sam and Paul both snorted as they pulled on the sweatpants that were tied to their legs.

"Where are my pants? Fuckers," Jared growled, his cheeks reddening. Sam just shook his head again and shrugged.

"I didn't know you would phase back so quickly. You were freaked, I expected you to be stuck for weeks. Sorry."

"How long has it been?"

"Eight days," Sam said quietly as they walked. Jared grumbled, looking around the forest to make sure no one could see them.

"Where are we going?" Jared asked, noting that the scenery was familiar. They had been patrolling around those woods with particular diligence the past few days. Paul began to make kissing noises and Sam shoved him on the shoulder before turning to Jared.

"Emily is my girlfriend," Sam replied slowly, swiping at a low hanging tree branch. Paul coughed loudly and walked faster toward the little house in front of them.

"Why is he acting so weird?" Jared asked, nodding his head in Paul's direction.

"Emily is my…girlfriend, but she's also something else," Sam said quietly, stopping. Jared stopped as well, his eyes darting around the small cottage that was nestled into the woods.

"Um, okay? You're not going to say she's your cousin, are you?" Jared shot at him. Sam gave him a stern glare and he promptly stopped his chortles of laugher.

"She's my imprint," Sam said. "I just thought you should know what that means."

"Uh, okay…" Jared said, scratching his head. In all honestly all he really cared about at that particular moment was going inside a real house, having a hot meal of human food, and then maybe a nice hot shower.

Sam watched his eyes drift to the house, and both boys were distracted by the smell of something hot and fresh coming out of an oven. Sam sighed, lightly smacking him on the shoulder. "Never mind, we've got time for that later," he said quickly.

Both boys jogged into the house, and Jared was so busy scarfing down the hot plate of lasagna that he barely noticed Sam and Emily's reunion. Sam had only been gone from Jared and Paul's side for a few hours during the entire span of his first eight days as a wolf, and he had looked tortured by that fact. Now, Jared understood why that was.

Sam and Emily collided together, Sam showering her with soft kisses on her beautiful cheeks. He hugged her up against his chest and she giggled softly as she realized they were being stared at.

"Ulgh, get a room," Paul said with a mouth full of food. Sam smacked him on the back of the head, and Emily laughed, flashing her bright white teeth. Jared looked at her, and immediately understood why Sam talked about her so much. She was one of the most gorgeous women he had ever seen; her coppery skin was highlighted by the blush of her cheeks and her dancing, wide brown eyes.

"Oh, uh…Jared, this is Emily. Emily…Jared," Sam finished before running his hands through her silky black hair.

By the end of the meal, Jared was almost sick by the view of Sam and Emily. Although he was trying to pay attention to the home cooked meal placed in front of him, he still had the time to make some disgusted faces as he watched his Alpha swoon and make lovey dovey faces at his girlfriend. After he ate, he took a quick shower in Emily's bathroom, not wanting to come back to his house with dirt all over him and sticks stuck in his hair.

"Hey uh…you just use tonight to take it easy, then report back to Sam tomorrow," Paul said awkwardly as Jared left that night.

"Sure, yeah, sounds good," Jared mumbled, running a hand through his newer short hair. He never had particularly long hair, but his normal coif had proven to be too long to manage as a wolf, so Emily had taken her clippers to it. It was now extra short and spiky, and he rather liked it.

"Oh, and try not to phase in front of your parents…it's a pain in the ass to explain," Paul added. Jared looked at him, his mouth gaping open as he pictured morphing into a giant wolf in the middle of his mother's living room. That would definitely not be good.

"I'll try not to," he said slowly, yanking up the pants Sam had loaned him. They were probably two sizes too big for him, and he prayed that his mother wouldn't notice that they weren't his.

"Yeah, yeah," Paul laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "Hey man, you did good this week. I know I give you a lot of hell but…you're alright."

"Uh, thanks," Jared said, raising his eyes up to meet Paul's. The older boy gave him a wry grin and turned, trotting off into the fading light.

Jared turned and walked in his house, actually glad to be home. He would have to remember to thank Harry Clearwater the next time he saw him. She bought the 'tribal leadership council' story. Hook, line, and sinker.

"I just wanted to do something to put on those college applications, Ma," he said with a shrug.

"I'm so proud of you!" she said, patting him on the head. "Why don't you go up and relax for awhile, Jar – Harry Clearwater said they ran you boys ragged over there. What all did you say you did?"

"Oh, lots of stuff. They're just training us how to be good members of the tribe, and how to deal with adversity," he said, giving her a megawatt smile. His mom grinned back at him, her pride beaming through her happy expression.

After that, he went upstairs to his room and shut the door. Flopping on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling in disbelief. He felt like he had been tired for weeks now, but when he was finally presented with his own warm bed, he couldn't help but feel like too much had happened for him to sleep ever again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sam looked at Jared sideways, swishing his tale against the low growing ferns on the edge of town. _You ready to go back today?_

Jared glanced at his house from the tree line, nodding. _Yeah, I'll be fine. I got this down_, he laughed, barking softly.

Sam laughed in his head, and then nudged him forward. _Then go get ready for school. Paul will be there today if you need any help._

_Gotcha_, Jared said, preparing to phase back to human form.

_Oh, and don't forget: keep your eyes open. Remember – growth spurt, heat, hot temper, wild eyes_…

_Got it, Sam_, Jared whined, crouching to phase. Sam nodded and Jared felt the heat being sucked back into his spine as he phased to his human body. Slipping on his shorts, he ran into his still-sleeping house to get ready. Today was his first day back at school after phasing. He had been gone for almost two weeks now, and he especially wasn't looking forward to all the makeup work he knew was waiting for him.

He snuck into the house, quickly showered, and tried to rest for a few moments before his alarm went off. He was dead tired after a full night of patrolling, but it had been worth it. Last night was the first night they had gotten a good clear scent from the two leeches they were currently chasing around Forks. Sam was patrolling all day today, and then tonight would be Paul and Jared's turn while he rested. The thrill of the hunt was enthralling to Jared; it was like a challenge. His wolf body would take over, bursting forward with more speed than the race cars he had watched on TV as a child. He loved it.

Being a wolf was like being handed a free pass to do as he pleased and get away with it. Those who didn't know could be told the believable cover story, and those who did know their secret would have done anything to help them accomplish their goal of destroying the bloodsuckers. Jared had grown accustomed to the lifestyle within a few days, and was even satisfied to learn that he had a special gift: his eyesight. When Sam and Paul had compared their own eyesight to his, both were rather envious to discover that Jared's eyes were indeed almost twice as good at seeing over long distances than theirs were. Yes, he had taken to wolf life quite well.

When he arrived at school, he slammed the door to his truck shut. It felt so weird to drive again. Even going 45 miles per hour through the center of town felt like going at a snail's pace now that he knew how fast he could really go.

He strode into the school, earning strange looks as he walked through the hallway. Ignoring everyone, he strode up to Paul's locker and nodded at him.

"Hey," he said gruffly, stifling a yawn. Paul looked up from where he was digging in a mess of loose papers and book.

"Hey, yourself," he said with a chuckle. "Stud."

"What?" Jared snapped, looking at him with a stern glare.

"Look around. The ladies can't stop staring at us…and neither can anyone else," Paul said his voice low.

Jared smirked to himself and looked around the tiny hallway of the reservation high school. Yes, he was definitely getting some looks, that was for sure.

"Just ignore it and try to get through the day without killing anyone, okay, princess?" Paul said, cocking an eyebrow at him. He slammed his locker shut and punched him in the shoulder, striding away. Jared watched him leave, shaking his head. He was glad he had finally figured Paul out – that guy had really gotten to him at first, and he was afraid that they weren't going to be fans of each other. However, Jared had come to understand that although Paul was a smart ass, a bully and a bit annoying, he wasn't actually mean spirited or malicious. They now got along rather well.

Suddenly, a strange new scent crossed under his nose. Now, he had had to get used to a newer, more sensitive body and senses these past few weeks. He had been able to smell the stench of dead animals in the forest, the disgusting aroma of Paul's incessant 'tree marking' habit, and worst of all, the burning flavor that was distinctly leech.

This smell was entirely different.

_What is that?_ He thought to himself. It was one of the strangest, yet lovely smells he had ever encountered, and his feet began to pull him towards it. Students shot him annoyed looks in the hallway as he gaped in the direction of the smell, but he saw nothing and no one out of the ordinary. The bell rang, jerking him out of his fantasy-like daydream that was centered around that new, enticing smell.

He drifted through the day, fighting to stay awake through his classes. _This whole patrolling all night and then trying to do school thing isn't going to work very well, _he thought as he left English. His teacher had actually kicked his foot when he had fallen asleep for the third time during her lecture on Macbeth. But that was the least of his worries.

The smell from that morning still lingered in the hallways. It was mixed with the scents of the people around him, and sometimes it was more muffled than others. However, he could still smell it and it was definitely still there.

By the time he got to calculus, he was completely worn out from the full day at school and was ready to fall over from complete exhaustion.

He walked in the room, and suddenly his eyes flew open. That smell…

The exotic, lovely aroma was filling the room of his math class, and he felt instantly better as he breathed it in. He noticed the students were filing into the room, shoving past him, so he stumbled to the back row to his usual seat. As he sat down, he felt his backpack clumsily knock into someone on the opposite side of the tiny rows of desks.

"Ow!"

Her voice rang out like bells. His eyes widened as it rung in his ears, and he turned around quickly to come face to face with the source of the noise.

And then there she was.

She sat at the desk on the other side of the aisle from him, rubbing her forehead that had just come into contact with his heavy backpack. Her coppery skin wasn't as dark as his, but it had the most beautiful creamy color he had ever seen on a human being. It looked like tawny silk. Her hair hung down in perfect waves around her small body, and her smell…_oh god, that smell…. It was her. That lovely scent was coming from her!_

"Oh my god!" Jared gasped, tossing it to the floor. How could he have hit this girl, this angel, this goddess in the face with his book bag? Horror and agony shot through him as he met her big brown eyes that were looking up at him in complete disgust.

He crouched in the aisle, completely oblivious to the rest of the students settling into the desks around them. Reaching out, he touched the red spot on her forehead where his backpack had hit her, and almost keeled over at the force of the pleasant shock he received when he did so. It was like…diving into a crystal clear, blue swimming pool on a hundred degree day. Heaven.

"Uh, it's okay," she mumbled, leaning away from his touch. Jared stared at her, his large brown eyes not believing what he saw. She was perfect – so beautiful and sweet smelling, and her voice was the most enthralling thing he had ever heard.

"Are you alright?" she hissed as he slid into his seat. He never took his eyes off her.

"Uh…uh…" his tongue fought to form coherent words as she stared at him strangely.

_Get it together man! _His mind screamed at him. He struggled to look down at his desk and pay attention as the teacher droned on and on, but he couldn't help it. How could he possibly pay attention to calculus when the most beautiful creature on earth was sitting beside him, looking exquisite and smelling like heaven on legs?

I have to figure out a way to talk to her, his mind screamed at him as he stared at her. Kim shot him one annoyed look after another as he gaped at her all through the lecture, but he was powerless to her.

How can I make her see? Wait…see what? His mind tried to rationalize his sudden need to be with this girl, this woman, this _angel._

_Wait! It's Tuesday! She can tutor me in the library after school! _He thought gleefully. _Oh shit…it's the same girl...what if she hates me?_

Jared's question was answered as he followed her like a lost puppy all the way to the library once class was over. He even tripped over his own feet once as he walked behind her, earning him several worried looks. She put her books down, and he plopped down on the chair at the table next to her. Kim looked at him sideways, silently scooting her chair away from him as nonchalantly as she could.

"Hi," Jared breathed, turning to face her. The dippy smile that crossed his face paired with his glazed-over eyes did nothing to make Kim feel better.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"What?" he breathed again, smiling even bigger at her. She gave him a weird look, then opened her calc book to the correct page.

"You have a lot of catching up to do, Jared. Where have you been for two weeks?" she asked quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. Her scent wafted towards him, and he smiled dreamily again.

"You know my name?" He asked in wonder.

She turned to glare at him. "Um, of course I know your name…we've met," she snapped.

Jared panicked for a moment, then tried to refocus himself. "You smell like blackberries and vanilla," he commented with a dreamy grin.

"Um, what?" she hissed, turning in her chair. "You are really starting to freak me out. What the hell happened to you?"

Jared could barely contain himself. "You're just so…_so_...beautiful," he said quickly.

Kim looked at him strangely, nervously pushing a strand of hair out of her face as she opened her graphing calculator.

"You seem so…weird," she muttered to herself, pulling out her pen. Jared looked at her hands and smiled to himself again like an idiot.

Even her hands were pretty.

Kim sat with him in the library, trying to get him to focus for almost two hours that afternoon, but Jared was a lost cause. He could barely stop staring at her long enough to write down what he needed to in order to catch up in calc class. When they were finished, Kim stood up quickly and closed her books, quite unsettled by Jared's behavior.

"I have to go or I'll be late for work," she said finally.

"Where do you work? What time do you get off? What do you do? Can I drive you there?" he stuttered. Kim looked at him, her expressions ranging from incredulous to stormy.

Internally, he groaned. Why was he suddenly acting like such a goon to this girl? _She's going to think I'm crazy, _he thought to himself.

"Uh…I work at the diner. I get off at 9, and I'm a waitress. And...it's raining again, so…I guess, sure," she said.

"Wow, that's really great," Jared replied, another dreamy expression crossing his features. She would be in his truck! She was actually going to let him take her somewhere in his truck…_oh wow. _

"Why do you suddenly know my name and like me?" she asked abruptly, turning to face him. Jared's eyes grew large as he looked down at her, struggling to even get his books in order enough to pick up off the table.

"What?" he asked slowly, staring into her chocolate brown eyes. They were mesmerizing…

"Um, you barely knew who I was two weeks ago. Which, might I add, is pretty insulting in a school this size, but…what happened? I know something is up, so you might as well be honest.

Damn, this girl was good. Jared felt his heart swell at the idea that this girl, his girl, was smart and sassy, not letting anything by her.

"Kim,…I…-"

"No lying," she added sternly, pushing in her chair. Jared stood, and thought a moment before resting his hand on her shoulder.

"I just…I honestly didn't realize what I had, and it was right here in front of me all this time. I feel like an idiot, Kim, and I…I would do anything to make you happy. That's the truth," he stated firmly. Kim looked at him strangely as she searched his gaze for traces of a lie, but found none.

"Oh…okay," she stuttered, her eyes falling to the ugly orange carpet of the library floor. "Um, I have to get to work."

"Can I still drive you?" he asked quickly. She nodded, then he noticed a slight blush rising up in her cheeks.

They walked quickly to his truck that was waiting in the parking lot, and she climbed inside the vehicle. Before Kim, Jared reveled in the fact that his black Dodge truck smelled like new car. However, when Kim climbed inside and her intoxicating scent of blackberries and vanilla filled the cab, he couldn't have been more ecstatic if he tried.

"Where to?" he asked, suddenly nervous. They were alone now, and his heart was beating wildly in his chest. Concentrating, he realized that he could hear her heart beating wildly in time with his as well.

_Could it be? Does she like me, too?_ He thought.

She gave him an awkward smile, then pointed to the main road in La Push. "Um, I have to go home and change first, then would you mind driving me to work? I hate walking in the rain," she added softly. Jared smiled. Her tough outer demeanor seemed to be waning, and for that he was pleased.

As he drove, following her quiet instructions, he couldn't help but marvel at her some more. _Why do I think she's so beautiful? Well...because she is, but…why did I never notice her before?_

He shook his head as he drove, trying to clear it of his clouded, love-ridden thoughts about Kim while she sat right next to him. Her tan hand rested on the seat beside her, and he briefly considered grabbing it.

"Do you walk all this way every day after school?" he asked in amazement.

She nodded, glancing out the window at the rainy evening. "Yeah, I walk home, change, then walk up to the diner."

"In the dark!" he almost yelled. She gave him a strange look and then nodded.

"Uh, do you have a better plan?"

The thought of Kim walking home from school in the rain, only to turn around and walk back home in the dark made his heart start pounding in his ears.

Calm…calm…calm…he chanted in his mind.

"Well, not anymore. I…I'll give you a ride wherever you need to go." _God I sound like a fucking moron,_ he thought. _But I can't help it, she's not walking around in the dark, unprotected, with leeches on the loose. _

"Uh, that's nice of you, but no thanks. This is just a one time deal," she said quietly. Jared fought to control his frustration as he gripped the steering wheel in front of him, but said nothing.

_Fine then, I'll just phase and follow you everywhere in wolf form. Hah!_

Jared was somewhat relieved to find that she actually lived a few miles from his house – and the woods behind his house would probably come up fairly close to the woods behind her house. In his mind, he was already plotting to come by and guard her, marking every tree in the vicinity. _His. _

He waited while she jumped out of his truck, taking some of her scent with her. She was only gone a few moments before returning in a stiff, worn cotton dress that looked like it had been starched too many times. Kim ran back out to the truck, tying her apron around her waist and climbing back in. She pulled her thin coat tight around her small body, her teeth chattering slightly.

Jared felt a pull on his chest as he watched her shiver, and he fought another urge to reach over and touch her with his hot hand.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked, looking at him strangely. He shook his head, glancing down at his t-shirt and jeans.

"Nah, I run hot," he lied, turning back onto the road. Once he was at the diner, he parked his truck and killed the engine.

"Well, um…thanks," she replied awkwardly as she picked up her purse from the floor. Jared's heart raced as he tried to think of something, anything that would mean he could see her again.

"Wait! Kim, uh…"

"What is it, Jared?" she asked impatiently, her brown eyes looking up into his. His heart faltered when their eyes met, and he sucked in a nervous breath.

_Don't screw this up!_ His mind screamed at him.

"Do uh…do you maybe wanna go out sometime? On…a d-date? With me?" he asked hopefully.

Kim looked at him, her brown eyes wide. Her pink lips fell open slightly and then she snapped her mouth shut after a moment.

"Oh, Jared….I…I-can't." She slammed the truck door shut and ran up to her house before I could even get a word out of my mouth.

_x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x_

_**IMPORTANT!**_

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	11. Embry: January 2006

**Embry**

**(Transformed January)**

"There's nothing to do here. Why does La Push suck? Why does this garage suck? I'm so sick of doing nothing. If I have to sit here being bored for one more afternoon of my short life, just wasting away-"

"If I have to spend one more afternoon listening to you whine like a little girl, I'm gonna kick your ass," Embry snapped, tossing a piece of licorice at his friend Quil.

Quil caught it midair, pausing before he took a bite to glare maliciously at his friend.

"Ha-ha…" he said sarcastically. "Shit, I'm even sick of this licorice. How long has this stuff been in here?"

"It was your idea to get it at the hardware store," Jacob snapped at them from under the hood of the Rabbit.

"Well it was three bucks for a whole bin! What was I supposed to do?" Quil snapped, ripping off another bite with his teeth. Jacob just shook his head and went back to working, and Embry continued his work organizing the tiny nuts and bolts on the blanket in front of him. Quil sat on the squeaky chair in the corner of the garage, twirling himself on the ripped, vinyl seat. It groaned and protested under his weight, and Jacob and Embry were quickly growing tired of the annoying sound.

"Will you knock that off?" Embry finally bellowed, pelting another piece of licorice at his head. Quil ducked with a snicker, and Embry just muttered some foul words under his breath at him.

"Geez, Em, get a grip!" Quil laughed, noticing that Embry wasn't laughing along with him like usual.

"What's with you?" Jacob asked him, setting his wrench down. He picked up a flashlight and cursed a little, reaching for his hood light instead.

"Nothin man, just…I'm sick of doing nothing too!" Embry said. "Quil's right, La Push is freaking boring as hell. Hey, maybe we should go up to Makah, or Forks! Yeah, cruise around for girls," he said with a sly smile.

Quil snorted. "Cruise for chicks in what? Billy's S10? Yeah…great plan," Quil mused, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, it's a better idea than anything you've come up with, Ateara," he shot back. Quil just snorted, turning in the squeaky chair.

"STOP IT!" both Embry and Jake snarled at the same time. Quil froze, his eyes wide for a moment.

"Geez," he muttered. "Hey Jake, don't you know a girl from Forks? What's her name?"

Jacob nodded, closing the hood on the Rabbit. "Yeah, Bella, Charlie's daughter," he said. "Why?"

"We should go meet up with her. Maybe she could introduce us to some chicks," Quil laughed.

Jacob shook his head. "Nah, Billy said that Charlie said that Bella isn't up for much these days. Something about her boyfriend moving away – he was a Cullen."

"A Cullen?" Embry asked. Just the name sent tingles up his spine. People talked about the Cullens, and always had for years.

"Yeah. He just up and left and she's like…really sad I guess. I guess Charlie said that she doesn't even leave the house 'cept to go to school."

"That sucks…well…invite her down. She'd love us," Quil urged him. Embry just laughed at Quil's eagerness to meet a girl. La Push was pretty boring, and the idea of meeting up with a girl seemed appealing.

"Nah, she wouldn't wanna hang out with your smelly ass," Jacob teased him. Quil gave him an incredulous look.

"Hey, I started wearing Axe cologne and you guys are just jealous that you didn't think of it first!"

"Whatever," Embry laughed. The three boys continued to help Jacob work on his Rabbit for the rest of the afternoon before deciding to call it a day.

"See ya at school," Jacob called to Embry as he left. He nodded, jamming his hands in his pockets as he began the short walk up to his mom's house. Glancing up at the Sunday evening sky, he grumbled a bit as it looked like it might rain soon.

"Figures," he mumbled, stepping up to the porch. He carefully removed his shoes, stepping inside the creaking door.

"Hey, Ma," he called. His mother flew around the corner of the kitchen, finishing closing the buttons on her blue polo shirt.

"Hey, baby. You take your shoes off?" He nodded. "That's my boy," she said, rushing to the cabinet. Pulling out her coffee mug, she poured herself a cold cup of that morning's coffee and began to heat it in the microwave.

"You goin to work?" he asked, opening up the refrigerator. Grimacing at what he saw, he slammed it shut with a dissatisfied grunt.

"Sure am. Janice called in sick, and she was supposed to work a double tonight, so I gotta take the opportunity," she said.

"Mom that means you're gonna work all night and then have to go to the office without any sleep!" he chided her. She gave him a pleading look and a shrug.

"We need the money," she replied, yanking her cup of coffee out of the fridge. Embry watched as she snapped the lid on, and grabbed her purse. His mom had two jobs: one, a night job at the all night gas station outside of Forks, and the other as a legal secretary for La Push's only lawyer.

"Mom, you're gonna be dead tomorrow," he argued. He hated seeing his mother work herself like that, but he was only sixteen and couldn't get many jobs on the reservation yet. Unfortunately, he was limited with what work he could do without a car to drive anywhere.

"Em," she sighed, slipping into her coat. "There's not much I can do. You wanna eat?" she asked him.

He smiled coyly, walking over to her. "I would starve for you, Ma," he replied, tucking a piece of his hair behind his ears.

"Don't be a smartass," she said, winking at him. Brushing his cheek with her hand, she playfully tugged on his long hair. "Do you need me to buy you more scrunchies?" she asked.

Embry winced, cowering away from her. "Mom, don't call them that! The last time you said that in front of Jake and Quil they didn't let me forget it for weeks. They're called 'hair elastics!'" he fumed, his cheeks turning pink. His mom laughed, wrapping her scarf around her neck.

"Well, whatever they're called, do you need more? I know you lose those things all the time," she said as she picked up her keys.

"No," he grumbled. "I'll just…cleanup my room or something." He had a bad habit of yanking them out of his hair at night and flinging them across the room into the piles of dirty laundry to be lost forever.

He flopped down at the kitchen table, and his mom quickly kissed the top of his head before dashing out the door. Wrinkling his nose, he brushed his hair out of his eyes and wondered if she had time to make anything for dinner before she left. He got up, glanced in the empty oven, and sighed.

_Ramen noodles again, _he thought sadly. Embry boiled a large pot of water, tossing in five or six packages of the cheap noodles. They were pretty bland and he was sick of eating them; however, he knew that they would fill him up and make his stomach stop rumbling. His dinner had only been on the stove for a few minutes when suddenly, the lights flickered and went out. He groaned.

"Not again, Mom," he said to the darkness. Frowning, he realized that he could _see_. Looking outside, he noted the early January evening was already completely black outside, yet he could still find his way around the dark kitchen.

"Weird," he mumbled, walking over to the drawer where the flashlight was. He looked around the dark yet visible kitchen and dining area, shrugging. Flipping the light on, he began to rummage for the candles. Once they were lit, he checked on his Ramen noodles and was relieved to see that the somewhat hot water had boiled them long enough to be soft and edible enough to eat.

Once he had scarfed down his meal, he reached for the phone book and opened it to the right page. He used their old wall-phone to dial the power company, and was promptly put on hold.

"Finally, uh…checking on the Call residence? 243 High Point road?" he said.

"Yes sir, the power to that residence has been shut off due to an outstanding balance on the account," the operator said. Embry clenched his fists once and took a deep breath.

"What's the balance?" he asked.

"$342.07 sir."

"What? Why so much?" he snapped suddenly.

"The account is two months behind sir," the bland voice on the other line answered. Embry closed his eyes, trying to calm himself enough to speak. His heart began to race as he silently fumed.

"Okay...thanks," he mumbled, slamming the phone down onto the receiver. "Great," he said, flopping down at the kitchen table. He pushed the remaining pasta around on his plate for a second before deciding to finish it. He threw the dirty dish in the sink and trudged out into the cold for some firewood. They had an old fireplace that he knew would work if he had enough wood, so he walked out to the woodpile to grab a few pieces.

Once at the back of the yard, he stopped. Did something just move in the bushes? He looked around, suddenly a little on edge. He had never been bothered out here before – the woods around his small neighborhood were fairly safe, and he had played in them most of his life.

Something rustled on the other side of the yard, and he turned around quickly. He saw nothing, but noted again that his eyes could see into the darkness much better than they normally could. His nervous breath made small clouds in the chilly air, but that was the least of his concerns.

Something moved again, and he could feel the hairs on his arms stand up in the cold air. He quickly grabbed a large load of firewood before rushing back into the dark house. Once his fire was lit, he moved the curtain to the side and glanced out the living room window nervously.

What had been out in the woods? It didn't sound small, whatever it was.

He sat down on the couch, silently dreading going to school in the morning without a hot shower. Embry felt awful that his mother was struggling so much with the bills. It seemed like it was getting harder and harder for her to get caught up, and he felt like a mooch that wasn't pulling his weight around the house. She wouldn't let him get a job yet, not that he could do much without a car anyway.

Things would be so much easier if she had someone to help her, he thought. His mind wandered briefly to his father, and he tried to picture him. He just couldn't.

His entire life, the space in his life reserved for his father had always been blank and daunting, like a puzzle piece that was missing. Embry never knew who his father was, and he didn't have the balls to ask his mom about it. He was no fool – his mom would have brought it up if she wanted to talk about it, and he was sensitive enough to realize that she didn't.

He looked down at his tan skin in the dark room. His mother was white; she was of French descent and had pale skin and pretty dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders, and the same dark, hazel eyes that he had. He had quickly realized as a child that his tan skin was not a genetic gift from his mother; his father had to be Quileute.

Not that it mattered…if his father wanted him to know who he was, he surely would have shown himself by now.

Well, he certainly doesn't get father of the year, he thought bitterly. He settled down lower on the couch, watching the blank TV and the growing fire. Maybe it was best if he didn't think about things like that tonight.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The next day, he woke up miraculously just before his alarm would have normally gone off. He did the best he could to make himself look presentable, but without a hot shower it wasn't much use. Yanking a brush through his hair, he secured it in a loose ponytail and threw on some clean looking clothes, cursing himself for always throwing everything on the floor of his room. When he got to school, he met up with Jake and Quil at his locker.

"Hey," he said, nodding. If Jacob and Quil noticed his disheveled look, they didn't say anything.

"Sup?" Quil nodded at him, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"Hey man, can I swing by your place after school?" Embry asked.

Jacob nodded, tucking a piece of his own long hair behind his ear. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I need to uh…grab a shower," Embry mumbled quietly, not making eye contact with his friends. If Jacob minded, he sure didn't show it.

"Aren't you gonna come work on the Rabbit anyway?"

Embry nodded again, grabbing the books for his first and second classes out of his locker. "Yeah, you're right. I'll be there."

"Hey guys, think Jared has his mommy rip the sleeves off his t-shirts, or do you think he does it himself?" Quil giggled as the older boy strode by.

Embry watched as Jared gave Quil a stern glare, and Quil suddenly stopped laughing and straightened up.

Jacob looked at him, his face incredulous. "Dude, you don't think he heard you, do you?"

Quil had stopped smiling altogether as they watched Jared walk farther down the tiny hallway, the top of his head almost touching the ceiling tiles.

"You'd better hope he didn't," Embry teased him.

"You look a little pale, Quil. Mouth write a check your ass can't cash?" Jacob laughed. Quil swatted at him, and Jacob quickly jumped out of the way.

"Yeah, whatever. You guys are just jealous that I'm a stud and you're just hopeless wannabes."

Embry snorted. "Yeah, Quil, that's what we're upset about."

Quil pouted as the three boys made their way to class. They made their way to their sophomore English class, and Embry slouched in the back row as usual. As he sat there, he kept shoving the long sleeves of his hoodie up; it was suddenly annoyingly hot in the classroom they were in.

Jacob gave him a strange look a few times, and Embry noticed that that bothered him slightly.

_Why is he looking at me like that? He shouldn't be looking at me! What's his problem?_

He shook it off for a few minutes, but then grew more and more agitated as the clock ticked on. It was getting ridiculously hot in the classroom, only making him more uncomfortable. He shoved at the sleeves of his shirt again, even lifting it up to see what he had thrown on underneath.

_Great,_ he thought when he saw that underneath it was a ratty old wife beater. _I can't walk around in this thing all day._

"You alright?" Jacob whispered from across the aisle. Embry frowned, trying to get a hold of himself.

"Yeah," he nodded. _Only I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my own skin, _he thought. It was so hot in there! What had happened, and why was no one else freaking out about it?

He looked around, noting that everyone else seemed normal; no one else appeared to be hotter than hell at the moment. With a sigh, he lifted his sweatshirt over his head, revealing the thin undershirt beneath it. Jacob gave him a confused look.

"Dude, it's January. Won't you be cold?" he whispered, ducking down out of the teacher's sight.

Embry just shook his head as he tossed it below the desk. Something just didn't feel right.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

After school, he wasn't ready to go home just yet, so instead he followed Jacob home. Quil tagged along as usual.

Behind the school there was a worn path that wound through the woods, down the hill, and ran along a stream for a few miles. Eventually, the path swooped up and ended up not far from Jacob and Billy's house, so that was what they used most of the time to walk home from school.

"I'm so glad this day is over!" Quil exclaimed dramatically. Jacob rolled his eyes and pulled a branch back and let it go, smacking Quil in the chest.

"Shit, Black!" he whined, rubbing his chest where the frozen branch had smacked him. "You're gonna get it when we get to your garage."

Jacob snorted, "Yeah, just like you were gonna give it to Jared today at school! Oh wait, I got that backwards! You woulda gotten your ass handed to you man. You're so lucky!"

"Whatever, I could take him!" Quil insisted.

Embry just rolled his eyes and tried to block out the mindless chatter of Quil and Jacob as they trudged through the muddy forest. Most of the recent snow had melted, leaving behind a dirty slush that was everywhere he looked. The boys walked through the wilderness, tripping and smacking each other playfully for nearly half an hour when Embry suddenly stopped.

"Holy shit!" he gasped, kneeling to the ground. Quil and Jacob stopped as well, turning around to see what he was talking about.

"What is it?" Jake asked, jogging back to see. Quil followed, peering over his shoulder.

"I don't know…is that…a bear?" Embry asked in amazement. He stared down at the large paw print in the snow in front of him with wide eyes.

"That's insane!" Quil exclaimed, measuring it with his hand. "That can't be a bear. That's…"

"If that's a bear, that's a huge freaking bear," Jake said slowly. Embry looked up at them, his eyes still wide.

"It doesn't really….bear prints are more…like…fat, ya know? This looks like…a dog or a wolf almost," Embry stuttered, trying to think of what kind of animals they had in these parts.

"Nah, it can't be!" Quil laughed. "You guys are crazy. That can't be a wolf! That thing would have to be size of a horse to leave a paw print that size!"

Embry looked down at it again, amazed by the sheer magnitude of the print in the snow. Could it be? It didn't look like any bear print he had ever seen…but then again, it didn't look like a wolf print either. They had wolves in these parts, but none ever came this close to people. They preferred to hide in the mountains and secluded forests. This was practically in Jacob's backyard.

"I dunno man…this is definitely weird," Embry admitted, standing up. He shrugged out of his hoodie again as he had begun to sweat. Quil and Jacob stood as well, frowning at him.

"You're gonna freeze!" Quil said, watching Embry tie it around his waist.

Embry just shook his head. "Nah, it…it feels better. I dunno…I'm just burning up."

"Weird," Quil said. Jacob was still staring at the print in the snow, shaking his head and muttering.

"Wish Billy could come out here and see this. He'd know what it is."

Embry knew that Billy would never make it out there in his wheelchair. Sadly, Billy was confined to the house's flat, smooth surfaces.

"Why is this so close to your house?" Embry suddenly asked. He glanced up the path, the back of Jacob's house in view.

"Yeah, man, you're gonna get eaten by whatever this thing is if you're not careful," Quil snorted.

"Shut up," Jacob snapped.

"I wish we knew what this-"

He was cut off when he saw something move in the thick underbrush, about a hundred feet away. It was large and grey, and made him jump.

"Holy shit!" he gasped.

"What?" Quil and Jake both echoed, jumping up.

Embry stood quickly, looking around the forest. "Did you guys see that over there?" he pointed towards the other side of the stream they were following, up the riverbank.

"Something huge just jumped across the creek! Did you guys….holy…wow," he gasped, still staring in the direction of the movement_. What was that? _

"No, what was it?" Jake asked, echoing his thoughts.

Embry continued to stare at the place where he had seen the sudden flash of movement in the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure what it had been, but whatever it was…it was big.

"I don't know…"

"I think we should get out of the woods," Quil said nervously, looking around at the trees.

"I think Quil's right," Jacob agreed, picking up his backpack. His nervous breath formed clouds in the chilly afternoon air as he looked around like Quil.

The boys all trotted nervously up the trail, glancing over their shoulders as they moved through the thick woods along the worn path. They branched up to Jacob's backyard, all breathing sighs of relief when they finally reached the clearing that was behind Jacob's house, just beside the shed.

"Care if I hang for awhile?" Embry asked. Jacob just shrugged his shoulders and nodded, opening the door to the shed where they spent much of their extra time.

"As long as you don't care if its mac and cheese with hot dogs for dinner, I don't," he laughed, shoving the doors closed. The three boys all took their respective seats in the slightly toasty building: Jacob on the stool in front of the Rabbit, Quil in his squeaky chair by the work bench, and Embry on the dilapidated armchair that was shoved into the corner.

"That was so weird. What do you guys think that was?" Quil asked finally. Jacob and Embry exchanged a perplexed look, shrugging.

"Obviously we're not the only ones that use that path," Embry pointed out. A shiver ran up and down his spine as he thought about the paw print in the snow. To make a print that size, the animal had to be….gigantic.

"So when will the Rabbit be ready Jake? We need some wheels," Quil said, breaking Embry's train of thought and diverting the conversation to a much more pleasant subject.

"When it's ready, lazy-ass," Jacob grumbled, grunting to tighten a bolt.

Embry rolled his eyes at their mindless banter, used to it by now. Anything was better than sitting in an empty house with no electricity, and besides, he knew his mother wouldn't be home for hours.

"You've been working on that stupid thing forever…how much longer is it really gonna take?"

"You know if you would like to help me, feel free to join in the fun anytime. Oh, I forgot Quil, you're pretty much useless."

"You gotta lotta nerve, Black," Quil said before pushing himself out of the squeaky chair and lunging at Jacob. He tackled him, sending them both crashing over the tiny stool where he'd been sitting. Pieces of metal bolts and screws clattered to the floor as they grunted and wrestled with each other.

"A little help here?" Quil asked him, looking up from Jacob's choke hold. Embry laughed, shaking his long hair.

"Nah, you got yourself into this one, pal," he laughed.

"Wuss!" Jacob spat through gritted teeth as he held Quil down.

"That's it, you asked for it!" Embry finally said, lunging for him. He knew it was useless to go for Jake; Jake usually won when they were wrestling, but he would at least try to help Quil out. He grunted and pulled at Jacob's arm, falling into the heap. Embry watched with surprise as his arms pulled Jacob's grip off of Quil, and continued to press them back until both of Jacob's wrists were pinned against the dirt covered floor of the shed.

"Hey! What the-"

"Gotcha!" Embry laughed.

"Hey!" Jacob hollered, an indignant look crossing his features. Embry laughed, pushing him harder into the ground.

"Hey, man, ow!" Jacob yelled with a frown. Embry let go, stumbling off to the side with Quil. Jacob jumped up, scowling.

"Sorry, man," Embry said, straightening his shirt. He smoothed his hair back, realizing that his hair elastic had been ripped out in the scuffle.

"Damn it!" he swore, his eyes scouring the floor of the garage.

"What the hell, Em?" Jacob snapped, arranging his own shirt. He glared daggers at his best friend, whose cheeks were reddening. All three boys were silent for a moment as they realized what had just happened. Embry had overpowered Jacob – that never happened. He avoided Jacob's gaze even after they started talking again.

After a few hours, they bid goodbye to Quil, who climbed into his mother's waiting car. Embry was silently thankful that his friend wasn't walking tonight – he couldn't stop thinking about the gigantic paw print they found in the woods. Whatever it belonged to, he hoped they never met.

"You alright?"

Embry turned his head to look at Jacob, who was looking at him sideways as they walked up to the main house. He shrugged, feeling the same anxious feeling boil up inside of him that he had felt all day.

"Yeah, why?"

Jacob crinkled up his nose and shrugged. "You've just been weird all day."

"Nah, I'm all good," he insisted, pulling the door open. The two of them ate in comfortable silence with Billy, who was engrossed in La Push's local newspaper.

"You boys behaving in school?" He asked, his eyes not moving up from the paper.

"I am, Jake's not," Embry snorted, shoving a large bite of macaroni in his mouth. Jacob smacked him on the shoulder as he laughed.

"Jacob…" Billy sighed deeply, his eyes flicking up.

"Yeah, Dad, school is good."

"Good. You boys behave. And stay out of the woods."

Embry's eyes moved up and met Jacob's across the table, and the two of them exchanged a look.

"Why's that, Dad?"

Billy looked up at them again. "People have been seeing uh…bears," he mumbled, leaning back in his chair.

Jacob looked back at Embry as if to question whether or not they should divulge what they had found in the woods.

"We um…we found a print in the woods today but…Dad, I don't think it's a bear."

Billy suddenly leaned forward, his eyes widening slightly "You-" he glanced at Embry, then back at Jacob, and seemed to reign himself in. "You saw what?"

"A print. We found it in the snow down by the creek. Just off the path. Looked pretty big and…not like a bear. More like a wolf," Embry replied slowly. He watched Billy's expression change.

"Wolves don't come around these parts," Billy said carefully. "But…if they did…just keep your distance. Just…stay out of the woods for now, alright? I don't want you kids running around out there. No tellin'….."

Embry and Jacob exchanged another look before returning their attention to the food.

Over the next week or two, the boys did as they were told and stayed out of the woods. Not that it mattered much. Jacob had recently befriended Charlie Swan's daughter, Bella, and spent all his time holed up in the garage with her. He insisted to Embry and Quil that she was quickly becoming his girlfriend, but neither believed him.

"Dude, she said she was your girl that's a friend. Not quite girlfriend," he laughed at Jacob.

Jacob slammed his locker shut, grumbling to himself. "It's that stupid Cullen kid. He messed her up good, I swear," he pouted.

He and Embry leaned against their lockers, waiting for Quil to meet up with them to walk to lunch.

"Aren't you cold?" Jacob questioned, glancing at Embry's strange choice of shorts and a shirt for their frigid January weather. He shook his head and tucked his hair back behind his ears.

"Nah, I'm just...hot all the time, I dunno," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Not that we have heat at my house anyway."

Jacob gave his friend a sympathetic look. "Does your mom work tonight?"

"Yeah. Double. I wish she'd let me get a freaking job, man, this sucks having to…it just sucks."

"You can crash on the couch if you wanna," Jacob offered. It was times like this that Embry was grateful that Jacob was his friend. He and Billy didn't have much money either, but at least Billy's disability paid the bills for their tiny house. It meant a lot to him that what little Jacob had, he was willing to share with his friend.

Embry nodded, his eyes searching for Quil. He just wanted to forget that their utilities were still shut off at his house and get to lunch. At least the state of Washington paid for him to be able to eat lunch at school every day. He was usually even charming enough to slyly con the lunch ladies into seconds.

Today he had gotten nothing for breakfast; his mom hadn't been to the grocery store in weeks, and their milk was sour and there was nothing left in the bottom of the cereal box but crumbs. His stomach rumbled, making his mood instantly darken. A heat rose in his back, making him curl his lip and frown in anger.

"Man, where the fuck is Quil?" he growled suddenly, smacking his locker. Several students in the hallway jumped, looking at him strangely. One of those students was Jared.

He paused for a moment, nonchalantly stopping to drink at the water fountain across the hall. Jared gave Embry one more look before leaning down to get a drink of water. Embry just scowled at him.

Who the hell was he to stare at him like that? He fumed inwardly, his hands starting to shake.

"Hey, man, he's right here," Jacob said quickly, motioning to Quil. Jared straightened up, wiping his mouth, locking eyes with Embry. For some reason, this made him want to punch something, or somebody.

Jared stared at him from across the busy hallway for a few more seconds, and then casually strode away.

Quil snorted. "Okay….." he said slowly, watching Jared stride away. "What was that all about?"

"Who knows, that kid's a freak anymore nowadays anyway," Jacob muttered, brushing his long hair out of his eyes. He turned back to Embry, who was still glaring after Jared.

"Come on, man, let's get to lunch."

Embry broke his stare with Jared's back, and looked at Jacob, glowering at him. Jacob dropped his hand from Embry's shoulder, taken aback by his friend's anxious glare.

"You alright?" he asked.

Embry frowned, shaking his head. "I….I don't know."

That afternoon after school, Embry followed Jake home again to spend the night at his place. His mom was working a double anyway, so he didn't have anyone to go home to. It sucked sitting in a dark, empty house with no one there. At least Jake had a TV.

He lay on the couch in Billy's living room, thinking about his life. For some reason, he was feeling pensive and reflective right now. Things just seemed so strange. He didn't feel like his self. He just felt like he was going to crawl out of his own skin and he couldn't figure out why; he was hot – literally- and bothered by something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Several days later, the power came back on at Embry's house and he had a few frozen pipes to fix. Without heat, the chill in the house would make the pipes freeze, and it was his job to fix them before it thawed and melted everywhere. He still spent a lot of time over at Jake's, but it was nice to be home for awhile. Not that it mattered.

Jake was busy spending most of his time with Bella Swan, not that he could blame him. She was a really hot girl, and from Forks not to mention. Girls from La Push were just girls that they had known since kindergarten, and rarely showed them anything new. Embry couldn't blame him for trying his game on Bella.

Embry had met Bella several times, and he liked her. She was quiet and shy like him, and brought out the worst in Jacob in his opinion. He was always so loud and chatty around her, determined to fill up the silence that surrounded Bella. She really only spoke when she had something important to say, and therefore...Jake spoke a lot.

Embry had just about enough of Jacob's shameless flirting for that particular afternoon, so he stood and said his goodbyes before his walk home.

"You sure you wanna walk, man?" Jacob asked pointedly. He eyed Embry, who stood in the doorway of the shed to leave.

"Yeah, we're not all wussies like you, Jake!" he joked, giving Bella a flirty smile before he turned to leave.

The night air was cold as he walked, not that he minded. The frigid, late January air was welcomed against his hot skin. He imagined that this was what it felt like to get a sunburn; his skin was hot, itchy, and felt like it was stretched across his body. He had grown substantially in the past few weeks, and had stretch marks on his arms and back from growing so fast. It was starting to get extremely uncomfortable, as all his clothes were starting to get too small as well.

He began the short walk along the quiet road towards his mom's house, inhaling the clean night air with a sigh. It felt so good to be out there…

Suddenly, an eerie feeling came over him. The hair on his arms and neck stood up, and he started to feel sick. He paused, sniffing the air.

_What the…why the hell did I just smell the air?_ He thought with a frown. Glancing up the road, he saw the lone street light that sat at the corner nearest to his house. Just a little longer and he would be home.

He continued to walk, looking around nervously. Something just didn't feel right about this, but he had no idea what it was.

He hadn't been walking for ten seconds when suddenly a flash of heat shot down his spine, making him stop and gasp for breath.

"Ah!" he moaned, grabbing his neck. "Shit."

The pain rolled up and down his spine, and again his hair stood on end. He began to pant rapidly, bursts of warm air shooting out of his nostrils into the chilly night air.

He struggled to catch his breath, but he couldn't seem to calm himself for anything. He gripped his knees and tried to breathe deeply, but it was becoming harder and harder. Embry panted, glancing up at the light a few hundred feet away on the corner.

Suddenly, he saw her. She was standing under the lamp post, the light shining down directly on her, casting a shadow across her face. Her hair stood out, even in the darkness. The mass of curls practically glowed red under the dim light of the lamppost, giving her an eerie glow.

Embry would have called out to her for help, but the tremors wracking his neck and spine kept him from being able to speak.

"Ah!" he gasped again, doubling back over. He glanced up to see if she was still under the lamp post and jumped when he realized she was standing merely ten feet in front of him. His mouth hung open as he gasped and panted, trying to regain control of the spasms as they ran up and down his body. His skin crawled as he looked up at her, and he briefly wondered how she got over to him so fast.

"Help," he grunted as his hands began to shake. Embry caught her eye as she gave him a sinister smirk, stepping closer. Suddenly, his hands began to not only shake, but blur.

"What the-" he grunted, looking down at them. A sickeningly sweet smell invaded his nostrils, making him feel sick to his stomach. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the wild-red-haired woman leaned closer to him, sniffing the air around him. Embry felt his hair stand up even more the closer she got, and he whined in misery as his body continued to blur and tremble.

Suddenly, the woods on the side of the road began to shake as something traipsed through them. The woman looked up quickly, then back down at Embry. He gritted his teeth as he realized she had the most eerie looking blood red eyes he had ever seen in his life.

She gave him one more smirk and then she moved so fast she disappeared. Embry gaped after her, his breaths making small puffs in the night air as he tried to calm himself. It felt like his skin was going to explode, and he couldn't bear it anymore.

A few seconds later, three streaks of color tore across the road in front of him several hundred feet, and he gasped again.

Wolves.

Not just any wolves. Huge, gigantic, horse sized wolves.

_Holy shit,_ he thought_. I'm gonna die. _

The two grey looking wolves continued to run in the direction the red headed woman had disappeared to, but the largest one stopped by the tree line. Embry shook even harder as he realized the huge black animal was walking towards him.

"Fuck," he gasped, falling onto the ground. The black animal looked at him for a few more seconds, and then dashed off into the forest. He was alone again.

The gravel from the roadside dug into his hands and knees, making small cuts as he shook and spasmed. He sucked in breath after breath, trying to calm himself now that he was alone. It worked.

After about five minutes of deep breathing, the trembling stopped and he was able to stand back up.

What the hell had that been? He was more confused now than ever. Frowning, he tried to catch his breath and figure out what the hell had just happened. A woman had approached him, and whatever she was…it was something strange.

He ran his hands through his hair, trying to convince himself he was crazy and seeing things. That was the only explanation he could think of. He had just seen what he was sure was not a human woman with red eyes, horse sized wolves, and then he had felt like he was going to turn green and explode like the Hulk. Something wasn't right.

Straightening up, he fought the urge to peel off his clothes in the chilly night air. His body was so unbearably hot that he couldn't stand it. Looking around, he still felt unsettled by something, although he wasn't sure over what. He felt like he was being watched - it was the strangest sensation ever. Turning around, he continued to walk towards home. Once his house was in sight, he sighed in relief. Almost there. The house was dark and no one was home, which he wasn't crazy about. As he fished in his pocket for the keys, he was thankful that his mother was at least safe at work.

He was just about to walk inside when he heard a voice.

"Hey!" it called out. Embry turned around, his eyes wide. There stood Sam, Paul, and Jared in his front yard, barefoot and half naked. He made a face, frowning at them.

_Okay, this night just keeps getting weirder_, he thought to himself.

"What the-"

"Come here," Sam said firmly. Embry felt his spine twitch slightly, pulling him in the direction of Sam. He grunted as he felt one foot step in front of the other, obeying the older boy's command.

"What are you….why are you here?" He asked, looking at the three of them. Jared and Paul stood on either side of Sam in the dark yard, flanking him. They both looked up at Sam when Embry spoke, as if to wait for his answer. Sam looked pointedly at both of them as Embry came toward them.

"Come with us," he said firmly, giving Embry a nod.

"I don't want to come with you! Why are you freaks in my front lawn half naked?" Embry shot back. Deep growls rumbled from Jared and Paul, and Embry's eyes widened.

"Did you just fucking growl at me?" he shouted.

Sam looked at him sternly. "You will come with us," he repeated, his voice louder and deeper than before.

Embry glared back at him as a deep rumbling sound vibrated in his chest. Jared and Paul both laughed, looking over at Sam.

"Any minute now," Jared chortled, reaching over to smack Paul on the shoulder.

"I said it would happen back there," Paul added, nodding back in the direction of the street where Embry had been trembling and shaking only moments ago.

"What are you freaks talking about?" Embry shouted again. "What do you mean?"

"Come with us and we'll explain," Sam insisted again. "We can't talk here. We have to go into the woods. Just come on!" He said, using his deep voice again.

Embry glanced back at his dark, empty house, and then at the three boys standing before him. He didn't want to go with them, but he didn't feel like he had a choice. He was suddenly hit with the overwhelming urge to follow Sam.

His feet began to move, one in front of the other until he had followed them into the tree line. Once they were in the cover of the forest, Sam stood in front of him, Paul and Jared back a bit.

"Alright, what the hell is going on?" Embry snapped, clenching his fists. He was suddenly so angry that they were there, talking to him, that he felt like he was going to explode with anger.

"It's not safe for you to be around others," Sam said softly. "You could hurt someone."

"What? What are you talking about? I'm not going to hurt anyone!" Embry snapped. His hands began to shake at his sides, and he gritted his teeth as the heat began to sizzle in his spine.

"Ow!" he grunted, grabbing the back of his neck.

"Easy," Sam calmed him, backing up a step. Embry continued to shake and spasm until he remembered to take deep breaths. The breathing technique had calmed him before, and he desperately hoped it would work a second time.

"Sam, is he gonna phase or not? He keeps calming down!" Paul hollered. Jared chuckled, stepping forward to Sam.

"Sam, we gotta get him to go tonight. He's gonna explode on some poor civilian if he doesn't go tonight!"

"He doesn't look ready," Sam said slowly.

"What are you talking about? Look at him!"

"Yeah, Sam, he's starting to blur!" Jared insisted. Sam looked back over at Embry, who had continued to tremble and shake. He looked down at his hands, his eyes widening as he realized that his hands were indeed beginning to blur.

"Ah, fuck!" he heard himself growl. He tried to scream but instead, another large jolt through his spine made his voice come out in a strange type of whining sound. He felt himself fall to the ground, but it felt…different. Foreign. Strange.

"Paul! Jared!" he heard Sam call out. Suddenly, there were two strange vibrations in the air and he suddenly got the feeling that he wasn't alone.

Strange… he thought.

_Tell me about it_, he heard Jared's voice.

_Back off Jared, let him figure it out_, he heard Paul say. It was strange…their voices were echoing in such a strange way. Embry frowned, opening his eyes. Sam stood in front of him tall, strong and silent. On either side of him stood two wolves: one was a grey wolf, his fur spackled with white and darker shades of grey. The other was a lighter wolf, but with a brown colored coat that was speckled with white.

_He's getting it…_one of the voices said.

The gray wolf looked over at the brown wolf, and both of them turned their gazes back to Embry.

_What the hell are they looking at me like that for? Why aren't they attacking Sam? Or me for that matter? These things are huge!_ Embry thought with a shiver. Suddenly, a mass of grey fur below his line of eyesight caught his gaze. He jumped, trying to avoid whatever animal was around him.

_There, he got it,_ he heard Jared say.

_Holy shit…I'm…I'm…._

_You're a wolf, Einstein_, Paul shot at him with a chuckle. Embry frowned as his voice echoed slightly in his head.

_What the…._

_Yeah, pack mind. We can hear each other,_ he heard Paul's voice say. Embry looked incredulously at the huge grey wolf in front of him, noticing that his eyes were strangely…well, human. The wolf blinked, turning his big head to look at Sam, who still stood in the middle of them.

"You're a wolf now, Embry. Welcome to the pack," he added, his voice somewhat sad. Embry stood up on four legs, moving his new, larger head to look at the two wolves beside him.

_You're Paul and Jared, aren't you? _He asked.

Both wolves blinked once, and then shook their large heads at him.

_And I'm a wolf? _His questioned earned him the same reaction.

Sam nodded, seeming to understand that they were having some sort of mental dialogue.

"Embry, don't panic. You need to understand that all of our legends are true. The spirit warriors, the wolves, the cold ones…all of its true." Sam's voice was firm yet demanding,

Embry's mind whirred as he tried to concentrate long enough to register what Sam was saying to him. _Could it be? All of the legends were really true?_

Sam began to explain about their duty as wolves, the vampires in the area, and the pack. Embry felt a whine escape his new wolf muzzle as he tried to process everything Sam was telling him. _This wasn't real life. It couldn't all be real, or true. This was out of a fairytale! Vampires, werewolves…_

_More like a nightmare,_ Jared added sarcastically.

He tried to calm down and figure out a way out of this. Being a wolf wasn't anything he wanted to be involved with. It sounded insane and dangerous, and he wanted to forget that this entire thing had happened. He tried to wrap his head around the fact that the woman he had seen in the street was not even a real human.

"You can phase back into human form. This change isn't permanent. As soon as you calm down enough…" Sam kept talking but I didn't hear his voice. All he heard was that if he could calm down, he could change back.

_I could change back, and be me again. I could forget this had ever happened, _he thought.

Before Sam had a chance to speak again, Embry toppled to the ground on his hands. He gasped as his spine contracted, and a strange sucking feeling overcame him. It felt like his skin had completely covered the fur, and his bones magically re-aligned into a human. He grunted, standing up and brushing himself off. Sam's eyes were as big as saucers.

Embry gaped back at him, unsure of what to say. The two wolves looked at each other in amazement, then over at Sam.

"How…how did you do that?" Sam stuttered, his brown eyes wide.

Embry took a few deep breaths, shuddering from the heat emerging off his body. Ignoring Sam and the disbelieving stares from the wolves in front of him, he inhaled the crisp night air deeply into his lungs, letting the chill calm his body. He blushed when he realized he was naked, but he ignored and was able to remain in control of himself.

"I don't want this," he said softly, turning to leave.

"Embry, stop!" Sam called after him. Embry's feet froze in place, a tightening in his spine wracking his body. _Why did he stop? He didn't want to stop…had Sam's voice made him do what he wanted him to do?_

"If you go home now, you risk hurting your own mother. Would you want to accidentally phase and hurt her?" Sam questioned. Embry stared at him, his body completely still. Sam's voice was laced with hurt, and his black eyes bore into Embry's.

"If you hurt someone like this, you go against everything we stand for. You can never take it back," Sam added. Embry felt his resolve weakening as he listened to Sam. His hands started to shake slightly, and all three pairs of eyes in front of him darted to look at his shaking fingers.

Embry sighed, running his hands through his shaggy hair. "No, I don't want to hurt anyone."

Sam nodded, stepping forward slowly. Embry watched as Sam stuck his hand out slowly, resting it on Embry's shoulder.

"This is a curse, but a good one. We use it to protect our people."

Embry was silent for a moment as he thought. "There really are vampires?" he asked slowly, looking up at Sam.

All three of them exchanged a look, as if they weren't looking forward to telling him. "Yes," Sam finally spoke.

Embry felt like the ground had been yanked out from underneath him. In one night, everything he thought he knew about his life had been changed forever.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

He watched the needle drag down his arm, completing the tribal pattern that now adorned his bicep. The artist wiped the excess ink off his skin, pausing to look at the finished piece.

"Done," he stated calmly, glancing up at Sam. Sam nodded at the man, and slipped him a few crumpled twenties.

The tattoo artist shook his head and held up his hand. "Your money's no good here," he said quietly, standing up. Sam offered it to him again, but he shook his head.

"My cousin was a tribal elder before he passed away. You're fine," he said. He and Sam exchanged a knowing glance.

"Come on," he said to Embry, motioning for him. Embry followed him out of the shop, nodding at Paul and Jared on the way out. The two stood up, walking over to him.

"Looks good," Paul said with a nod. "Healed up nice."

"What?" Embry asked. He looked down at his new tattoo, and realized that the skin over it had already hardened and was flaking off.

"Holy…wow…." He said, rubbing the pad of his finger over the new mark on his body. Sam nodded and motioned for him to follow.

"What are we doing tonight?" he asked. "Can I go talk to Quil and Jacob?"

"No," Sam said shortly. "You need to stay away from them Embry."

"Why?" he whined. "Jacob's gonna think I'm mad at him!"

Sam whipped around, grabbing his shoulder. "Then you let him."

Embry met Sam's hard gaze, scowling at him. "I hate this, and I hate you!" he growled. Sam looked pissed for a moment, and then he just shook his head.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I do, too! I hate this. All of this! My mom is mad at me, Jake and Quil I can't even talk to…I burst into a giant monster…I'm hot all the freaking time, and I have to chase after leeches! What part of this would I like Sam?" he screamed.

"Quiet!" Sam hissed, and Embry's mouth fell shut.

"I'm trying to help you. I didn't ask for this for you, or for Paul, or Jared, or even myself!" Sam shot back. He stepped closer to him, standing toe to toe.

"But I'll be damned if I'm going to make anyone go through this alone like I had to. I wouldn't do that to you. Now you can either accept it, or live in misery, because this is who you are now, Embry. None of us asked for this. The best we can do is band together and try to help each other through it. We're helping you, and when Quil, and Jake, and whoever else this hits next goes through it, you're going to help them."

"Why should I?" Embry snapped. Sam leaned even closer, a deep growl resounding in his chest.

"Because that's what brothers do."

He fished his car keys out of his pocket and motioned for Embry to follow him. "Come on."

"What now?" Embry muttered.

"We're going to Emily's place," he said simply.

"Who's Emily?" Embry asked. Sam smiled, a look that was completely foreign looking on his stern, hard face.

"A very important person."

They loaded into Sam's truck, Embry in the back with Jared.

"Why can't I go see Jake and Quil?" Embry asked the older boy. Jared looked on as they pulled away from the house where he had gotten his tattoo.

"They'll be with us soon," he said. Jared watched Embry's face fall.

"You'll understand. You might hurt them bro. Just hang with us for a few days."

Embry scowled at him, but agreed.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Embry winced as he opened his bedroom door. His mom sat at the kitchen table, gripping her steaming coffee mug so tightly that her knuckles were white. He shuffled in, doing his best to make it look like he had just woken up.

He grabbed the pot, pouring himself a cup.

"You were out again last night," she said finally. He cringed before turning around to face her.

His looked at her blankly. She looked as tired as he felt, and he didn't have the energy to try to lie to her that morning. It was a constant battle that neither one of them would win, and he had given up trying to days ago. Each night, she would come home from her second shift job and find Embry's bed empty. He would attempt to sneak in while she was sleeping, but he knew that she knew. She only slept for a few hours before getting up to her first shift job, and she always managed to slip at least a half an hour of yelling at him in there somewhere.

"I want to know where ya been, Em," she said tiredly into her coffee cup.

"Mom, I was out. I'm sorry."

"That's not what I asked. Where do you go every night?"

"Just out, Mom. Can we please drop it? I'm tired."

She inhaled sharply. "You're tired cuz you're not at home in your bed like you should be! The school called, Embry. Message was on the machine that you've only been there once in two weeks."

"They need to mind their own business!" he snapped.

His mom's eyes widened. "They thought something horrible had happened to you! You used to be such a good kid, and when you stopped showing up two weeks ago, they thought you'd been hurt! Or that I was beating you and you didn't want to come to school!"

"Mom..."

"I kinda wanted to beat you after hearing that!" she yelled, standing up. Her chair fell out behind her, but she paid no attention. "Em, what is going on with you?'

Embry sipped the hot liquid from his mug, wincing slightly at the heat. "Mom, I'm going through some stuff right now, and you don't need to worry about it," he said, tucking a strand of his long hair behind his ears. He eyed her warily, hoping that he could keep his tempter under control.

"That's bullshit, Embry!"

"I can't help it!" He yelled back. "I can't please everyone!"

"The only person you need to worry about pleasing is me! And you can do that by staying home at night and going to school like you should!"

"I'll go back to school later. School will always be there!" he snapped. How dare she yell at him now? Here he was, risking his life to protect her from vampires and she had the nerve to yell at him like this!

_Calm down…calm down…it's just mom…she doesn't know… _he tried to soothe himself. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, feeling the heat that lingered in his spine fizzle and cool.

"I want you here at night, in your bed like you're supposed to be!" She screamed. "I don't want to come home from work every night and look in there and see you gone! It's not right for a kid your age!"

"Mom, I'm seventeen," he argued.

"That doesn't make it right! God Embry, I'm a bad enough parent as it is, I don't need you running around all night and then not showing up at school!"

"Mom-"

"No! I've had enough!" she bellowed, slamming her coffee cup down on the counter. Drops of the black liquid splashed out onto the counter, but she didn't appear to care. She grabbed her coat off the hook and her purse, yanking the door open.

"When I come home from second shift tonight, I expect you to be in this house. And I expect you to go to school today!" she demanded. With a slam of the door, she was gone. Embry sighed, leaning against the kitchen counter as if it was the only thing holding him up. He was so exhausted that he thought he would collapse. School wasn't an option for him anymore these days…he was just too tired. Between his Dr. Jekyll temper and freakishly hot body that couldn't stand much clothing, school was the last place he wanted to be. Besides…he was barely awake enough to stand up.

His head bobbed sleepily as he caught himself. Sleep would be good right now. The house was quiet, his mother was gone, and there would be no interruptions. He knew that Jared and Paul were going to school today to look for other guys who looked like they would be making the change soon. Sam estimated with all the vampire activity that someone else was bound to change soon; he was busying himself today meeting with the elders to try and decide exactly who they needed to keep an eye on.

Embry had a feeling Sam knew, but he didn't want to say it yet. He did a good job of blocking his thoughts in front of everyone when they were patrolling, but Embry could feel the name of the next person on the tip of Sam's tongue. He hoped that Sam wasn't right about Jake and Quil – he didn't want this for his friends. No one deserved this.

He slept on the couch most of the day, only waking up once to shovel down the last few bites of a casserole that was days old. He had never felt so _hungry_ in his entire life. No matter how much he ate and ate, it was never enough. As if to echo his thought, his stomach gurgled restlessly as he lay back down on the couch.

Sam's call rang through the forest several hours later. Embry opened his eyes groggily, getting his surroundings in check. Sometimes when he woke up, he wasn't sure what form he should expect to be in; it all seemed to blur together these days. With a sigh, he got himself up off the couch and stretched. It was nearly six p.m., meaning he had slept for almost twelve hours.

"I prolly need it," he mumbled to himself, yawning. Opening the door, he saw Sam standing in human form at the edge of his yard.

"Good, you got some sleep," he said, nodding at him. Embry shook his head, still in the process of waking up.

"I heard your mom this morning after I dropped you off," Sam said quietly. Embry rolled his eyes, embarrassed that his Alpha had heard his mom yelling at him. Sam always tried to hang around as much as he could in case Embry needed help; he knew how dangerous a young wolf's temper could be.

"It'sok" Embry slurred, brushing his hair out of his eyes. The past two weeks had definitely been more like a blur than anything else. A tiring, painful blur. His body constantly ached as it got used to shifting from human to wolf form all the time, and he was out patrolling most nights with the rest of the pack to keep a pair of rogue vampires away. Between the pack, patrolling, and his mom, he felt like he was being pulled in about a million directions. He felt like he was going to snap soon.

"Paul and Jared told me I should let you tell your mother," Sam offered, looking sideways at him as they walked through the woods.

Embry paused, stopping in the darkening woods. His toes dug into the damp moss at his feet as he considered it. Would it be any easier if his mom knew?"

"It's up to you Embry. It might make things easier…"

Embry pictured him mom's tired face and weary eyes as she had yelled at him. Was it better for her to just think that he was going through a rebellious stage? Would it be any better if she knew he was a werewolf who chased vampires?

"I…I don't think I want her to know."

Sam watched his face, knowing the Embry wasn't finished.

"I just…I don't want her to worry about something like that. What I am…what I do…and why," he shrugged. "I just…she's got enough to worry about. I don't think….nah, Sam, it's alright. The secret is just…"

"It's okay. Some people know," Sam reminded him.

Embry looked back in the direction of his house. His mom would be home soon, and she would find the house empty once again. He shook his head once more.

"Nah…the secret is too important. She can't know," he finally decided. Sam reached out, putting his hand on Embry's shoulder.

"You're a good person, Em. You're a good wolf too. If you don't want to tell her, then that's your decision. I'll respect it."

Embry nodded and the two kept walking. At first he had hated Sam and the pack and everything they stood for. They had ripped him away from his normal life – true, it hadn't been a good one, but it was all he knew. He no longer could see much of his mom, and he couldn't see any of his friends. Jake and Quil had called and called the first few days, and he was sure his mom had told them that he was being 'difficult', as she liked to call it.

_Maybe they'll think I have mono_, Embry hoped to himself. His missed his friends, but mainly…he just missed his old life.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Embry watched with leery eyes as Emily placed the platter of muffins on the table in front of him. She offered him a crooked smile as she slowly backed away, not dropping his gaze. He looked away, not wanting to make Sam think he was staring.

This was only the second time he had been allowed in Sam's house, and one of the first times he had met Emily. Sam had brought him to Emily's house after his first hissy fit about not being able to talk to Jacob and Quil for awhile. Sam hadn't said anything when he introduced him to Emily. He hadn't needed to. The scars running down her face and arm were like neon, flashing reminders that he had no business being around people unless he had to be. Seeing Emily had shut him up about seeing Jacob and Quil. If he had hurt one of them like that, he would never be able to forgive himself.

He took a bite of the food, and sighed as the warm muffin practically melted in his mouth. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten something that wasn't either cafeteria food, leftovers, or cold cereal. This…this was _real_ food.

"Emily's cooking is the best," Paul grinned at him, giving him a knowing look.

"Yeah, my mom doesn't even cook this good," Jared grinned through a mouthful of food. Embry smiled, taking another huge bite. He looked up in surprise as a glass of orange juice appeared in front of him. Emily gave him another slightly crooked smile with her scarred face, and he hesitantly returned it.

Her eyes met Sam's, and Embry watched as he seemed to beckon to her silently, and soon she made her way over to sit on his lap. He leaned up and kissed her scarred face as if the marks from his sharp claws weren't even there. Embry looked away, already feeling like an intruder.

After they had eaten a little, Embry was surprised again when Emily motioned for him to follow her into the small living room by the kitchen.

"Go ahead," Sam said when Embry looked over at him questioningly.

Embry followed her, careful to stay a safe distance away. He was sure he could control himself, but he didn't want to scare the girl that was obviously so important to Sam.

"Come on," she said, walking over to a recliner overflowing with bags.

"What's this?" he asked quietly, cocking his head to look in the bags.

"The Elders send some funds our way," she said somewhat sheepishly. "To help out," she finished. Opening the blue Wal-Mart bag, she pulled out at least five pairs of black sweat pants.

"I cut off the gathered elastic on the bottoms, cuz I know Sam hates that," she said, unfolding a pair. "But try a 2xl and make sure they fit. That's the smallest size I got, because I got them all before you joined."

Embry nodded, giving her a knowing smile. He knew he was the smallest wolf in the pack so far. Sam was the largest, followed by Paul, then Jared. Sam told him that he might grow more yet. Either way, he was at least a foot taller and fifty pounds heavier than when he first transformed.

"Thanks," he said. Slipping into the bathroom, he tried them on and was relieved that they fit. He needed more clothes desperately – he had shred at least eight pairs of pants in the past two weeks.

He emerged, clutching the sweats and grinning shyly. "They fit," he said softly.

"Great," she said.

Embry sighed, putting them back in the bag and searching in his pocket for a hair tie. His long locks were still shoulder length, and were growing increasingly hot by the day.

"Are you too hot with your hair?" she asked politely, looking over at him as she refolded the waiting stacks of sweatpants. Her voice was kind yet shy, quiet and comforting.

Embry felt an embarrassed blush rise in his cheeks. "Uhm, yeah, a little. I haven't had the chance to get to a barber," he said.

Emily giggled. "I have clippers, you know," she said. "Do you want to go outside and have me cut it? It would be cooler," she added.

Embry thought a moment. He didn't really want to cut his hair; he had had long hair most of his life. However, she did have a point. It was unbearably hot.

"Come on," she said finally. Leading him out the back door, she set a stool down on the porch and got her supplies. Sam watched from the other side of the glass with an amused smile as Emily began shearing away his long black hair, replacing it with a short buzz cut that was slightly longer in the front.

"That should help," she said. Embry sighed, already feeling better with the short 'do.

"Thanks Emily," he said softly.

"No problem," she laughed. "So…how are you handling all this?"

Embry paused, unsure of what to say. "Um…good, I guess."

"I bet you miss your friends," she prodded. "Sam said you did."

"He did?"

"Mmmhmmm…" she hummed as she worked.

"He's not as bad as he pretends to be," she said, knowing full well that Sam could hear her through the glass. Embry heard a snort come from inside.

"He's fine, this is all just…different."

Emily laughed lightly, carefully brushing the extra hairs away from his ears.

"I'm sure at least Jake will phase soon. Billy is an elder, and he said that Jake is getting a lot bigger."

Embry sighed as Emily continued to talk, but her voice eventually became a dull sound in the back of his mind. His heart sank as he realized that his best friend would soon share his fate. Bursting into a giant monster and chasing after other monsters was not the life he would have selected for himself. He wished the Jacob didn't have to live like this, but he knew Emily was probably right. If Billy thought Jake would phase soon, then it was probably true.

_Enjoy your last few days as a human, Jake, _he thought sadly_. Life will never be the same for you after that…_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Hope you Enjoyed Embry! Sorry for the delay – I got wrapped up in some of my other stories (If you like wolfpack stuff, check out my new fic 'Love This Pain' – it gives Seth some love) and Embry was just plain hard to write.

Good News! Several portions of Immortal are up for Single Shot Awards! Sorry for faking you out the other day, but I didn't know how else to let people know I was up for an award!

Please vote if you have a chance – the link is on my profile page. I'm up against some biggies! 'Out in the Garden' and 'Love Runs Wild' are also nominated! I'm up for several other awards as well, and links are on the page if you would like to vote. I'd love you forever : )

Next up is Jake! I'm going to try really hard to NOT have his story cover a lot of the events of New Moon. Meaning, if you saw Jake do it in the book, I'm trying to write about what happened behind the scenes and what we didn't read about. There are so many stories out there that cover that already, and I want to dare to be different : )

Please review! As EliseShaw says…"It takes me a long time to write several thousand (this one was 11k+) the least you can do is leave me a few nice words."

Right?


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